


Behind Closed Doors

by Mithra30



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Child Abuse, John Winchester's A+ Parenting, M/M, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-22
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2018-01-25 23:58:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 48,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1667228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mithra30/pseuds/Mithra30
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John Winchester and Mary got divorced 6 months after the birth of Sam. She left and went back to her maiden name of Campbell taking four year old Dean with her and the court had her leave Sam in the custody John. Sam is basically a slave to John, not a son and rumors spread like wildfire around Wayward HighSchool about Sam and the marks on his body, problem is he makes up all kinds of stories about where they come from, and it seems that a few people out there want to save him. Question is how do you save someone who doesn't want to be saved?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Invisible

Sam had woken up with a start, his alarm going off at the loudest hopefully not waking his father up. His hazel eyes adjusted to the faint dim lighting that showed in his small room. It was only four fifty-five in the morning on a Monday. Inside he was happy, not that he would ever show it on the outside. He was used to never showing any emotion on the outside unless it came to fake smiles, fake laughs, and fake everything. He was happy because it was Monday and Monday had meant school and that meant not being at home. His dad John would be at the auto garage that he owned and he wouldn't be home until five. He also got to learn. Sam loved to learn all kinds of things and at lunch he would be by himself in the grass with books or working on homework. During the free period everyone was given he spent it in the library doing more reading. He had no friends, he wasn't shy he just didn't like talking to people and he was in honor classes so no one really talked to each other they were all pretty much snobs. Added to that was the fact that if anyone was in an honor class they were basically a nerd and well, no one wanted to hang out with a nerd. Sam got up and walked into his small bathroom and began taking his required five minute shower everyday. He dressed himself in a grey shirt, blue jeans, and put on a brown hoodie that had thin stripes of yellow, blue, and red on it. He walked out of his room and gave it a once over.

The bed needed to be made, a few shirts had littered the wooden floor, there was a mess that gathered on his desk from rough drafts of an essay, and the walls of course had cracked plaster on it. It wasn't much but it was his, he only wished that he wasn't given the smallest room in a four bedroom house that just only occupied him and his father. He began cleaning with such precision bravado that only others would see as OCD but that couldn't be helped. His bed was made so that no one could see a single wrinkle in the old brown, worn out sheet despite it having many holes. The dirty clothes that once littered the floor was now stacked in accordance to what they were in the hamper ready to be washed as soon as he got home, Monday was his laundry day after all. The papers on the old wooden desk were now in neat piles ranging from the oldest-to-recent- date written. He, of course, would have to deal with the plaster problem after the laundry too. He snapped himself out his haze when he realized the sunlight was going to start peering into John's room. Sam gripped the doorknob, tearing open the door and began rushing downstairs, careful not to make a racket going down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Breakfast. He needed to make breakfast quick. Five twenty-two in the morning. Eight minutes until John got up and took a shower. Thirty eight minutes until he came back expecting to find his breakfast on the table. Thirty eight minutes left for Sam to make pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, sausage, and a glass of orange juice left out for John. Sam immediately got to work on the pancake mix first. His stomach immediately began growling at the thought of what he had to make for his dad.

_Maybe if there's leftovers he'll give them to me._

He hoped but when was he ever that lucky? Almost never. He ignored his stomach and stirred the water and mix. He sprayed the pan with a generous amount of non-stick spray and heated it up on the stove. His father always had him make twelve pancakes but John only ever ate six. The rest he would always give to their dog, which was just cruel Sam watched and tried not to cry while Dusty ate the food he slaved over, it just wasn't fair at all. Next, Sam started on the eggs and John always liked three of them sunny side up with pepper sprinkled all over them. The clock read five forty-eight.  He pulled out another pan and brought out the packages of bacon and sausage. Five pancakes were done, and so were two eggs maybe John would give him some food after all. He ripped open the bacon and sausages from the packages and stared for a moment.

_Meat. Food. If I could only just have one..._

He broke out of his trance remembering about the other pancake and put it on the stack and the putting the bacon on the other pan. Hearing the sizzling and popping of it made him yearn for it. Yearn for food. The scent was overwhelming. It was like heaven to him, just calling and beckoning him to have a bite of the tasty morsel. He licked his lips, his stomach growling in anticipation and begging to be met with its harsh demand for food. Sam put seven more slices, careful not to burn himself. The food was all there putting him in a trance, it was always putting him in a trance. He lifted the last egg on the plate and put two more pancakes on the stack. Four more pancakes to go and four pieces of sausage. He started putting the sausage in the same pan as the bacon. The smell of grease and the sound of popping and cracking were music to his ears. He stared longingly at the meat. God, was he hungry. All weekend he didn't get to eat, why? Because he spilled a small cup of soda on the floor. It wasn't just bad enough that he was beaten for it no, he had to go the whole weekend hungry. All the pancakes were done already, now it was just the meat. He hurried and scrambled to get the juice out of the fridge and into the glass cup. He set John's spot up in a quick, orderly fashion. Sam looked at the table, he found it odd that it was meant for a family of four people but it was just him and John. He finished cooking the sausage and put all the pans in the sink. Six am. Finished right on time. He heard the thumping of boots coming down the stairs and immediately ran to the corner and looked down with his hands and his sides. He always had to do this every morning. John walked in wearing his blue jacket, black shirt, and faded pants looking over every detail to see if it passed inspection.

He didn't even acknowledge Sam standing in the corner. When he deemed it alright he sat down and began eating. Nothing but the sound of crisp bacon and sausage being eaten filled the air. Sam stood in the corner and began recollecting what assignments were due for today in his classes. He had English, Calculus, P.E., Free Period, Lunch,  AP Biology, and Advanced Reading. His mind was becoming mush at the moment though, not being able to eat for three days was making it hard to focus. He tried his best to stay still as he noticed he was beginning to falter a bit.

_The teachers... what will they ask? What do I say? I... I fell down a hill while out on a, uh, um, walking thing... hike! That's it! Hike!_

He blinked slowly, wondering if the teachers would buy that. There were bruises on his neck and the side of his face, but they were beginning to fade now. They used to be a dark angry green almost black color, now they were a light lavender.  Their German Shepard Dusty walked in just then, no doubt eying the food he knew he was going to get. John set down the food for the dog and as he ate happily Sam looked over in both envy and in pain. He went back to looking down. As soon as John was done he walked over to Sam. Sam didn't even notice that he was right there, he was too wrapped up in trying not to fall. John grabbed his chin, inspecting the damage that was left over from Friday. Sam didn't dare look up into his eyes without permission, usually that meant more bruises, more chores, and more days without food. He could feel his dad glaring at him. His dad always glared at him. He didn't even know why but it made him feel like everything was his fault. Maybe everything  _was_ his fault... he just didn't know. 

_Food. Please. Give me an order to eat. Anything. A slice of pancake. Some juice. Anything. Something for God's sake! I just want food._

"Go get ready for school," John growled and left the kitchen. Sam's heart sank hearing that. He never got any money for lunch and the last time he brought home a form requesting that he get free meals from school he came back with cracked ribs as a result from being thrown down the stairs. He stared down at the blue and white tiles of the kitchen floor for a moment before moving. He sniffled when he went inside his room and sat down on his "bed" it was an old army style cot, apparently his dad been in a war. He supposed that explained why he was so messed up. The pillows that his dad made him use were just stacks of old newspaper. He shook his head.

_Four more years and I'll leave. Just four more years.  
_

Wiping away the tears he got up and began putting his homework and schoolbooks in his bag. He put on some clean socks and his school shoes. They were black and white converse shoes. He looked at himself in the mirror. He couldn't help but notice how his sweater made him look like he had at least some meat on his bones. He was a very skinny and small kid, he knew why though, it wasn't a matter of not hitting puberty it was the fact that he was malnourished. He was missing a lot of nutrients and vitamins and they were stunting his growth. He knew all about it after reading it in a health book. Six forty-two in the morning. He walked downstairs and waited by the front door in the same prisoner like position in the kitchen. In the morning John gave him rides to school in the pick up truck, in the afternoon Sam had to take the school bus to Crossroad Street and walk home in the heat or cold for eight blocks to the house. He could hear his dad shuffling about upstairs getting ready for his start of the day at his shop, all he ever did there was fix up old cars and when he wasn't he was home drunk ordering Sam to do this and go get that. All Sam wanted to know was why his own dad looked at him with hatred and treated him worse than that of an animal but he didn't think he'd ever be given an answer. He came down the stairs, his feet reminded Sam of the giant from the Jack and the Beanstalk tale he heard when he was in first grade. They were slow and thundering just like the tale had described and to Sam it really did belong to that of a monster. His teacher told him there were no such thing as monsters but Sam was pretty sure he lived with one and the most fearsome of all.

"Let's go boy," John spat out and shoved Sam out of the way. He never addressed Sam by his actual name anymore. That stopped when he was eight and he never understood why either, one day it was Sam the next day it was "Go and make the god damned food boy," and it stuck from then on. Sam toppled over easily and he scrambled to get up finally given permission to move. He hurried and followed behind his dad and got into the truck. The pick up truck was blaring out Detroit Rock City from KISS. Sam once had a friend named Amy during his middle school days. After the school year was over Sam was devastated to hear that she was moving out of state. She had been the only one who bothered to talk to him and be his friend in sixth grade. She got him a little eight gb mp3 player loaded with songs that she knew he'd like as a goodbye present. He still had it and listened to it whenever he could, John could care less about what the boy had. Right now Sam was listening to a song that was very describing of his situation, by a band called 30 Seconds To Mars. It wasn't that he hated classic rock music it was that he just didn't like being reminded of his dad.

_"Don't save me Don't save me cause I don't care (could you leave me alone) Don't save me Don't save me... I don't... SAVE ME! SAVE ME! SAVE ME!..."_

They pulled up to the school. The students were just barley starting to gather in small clusters and the buses hadn't arrived yet. John quickly grabbed Sam and turned him to face him and yet again looked over the bruises.

"Tell them... Tell them you fell down the stairs," he grumbled. Sam was beginning to wonder how many times he had used that excuse already and it was only October. Sam dazed for a moment, he had forgotten about his hunger. John immediately yanked Sam's hair and held it firm in his grip. Doing that had snapped him out of his daze and he hissed in pain and in reaction he reached both arms behind his head to grip his dad's wrist hoping to lessen it.

"I said, to tell them you fell down the stairs. That's an order. Do you hear me boy?" He seethed. Sam winced. John was tightening his grip.

"Y-Yes, sir," Sam avoided his eyes again and held back his tears.

"Good. Now get out," He growled and let go. Sam fumbled for the door handle and missed the step, falling out of the vehicle and onto the pavement.

_At least if I get a bruise from this it'll actually be the truth._

Shutting the door, he hoisted up his backpack, wiped his tears away and avoided the looks from some of the other students that were staring at him strange. He sat down at an empty table in the courtyard and put his head in his hands. Sighing, he decided to take out his books and read... he didn't even notice that a boy had been watching him from the parking lot. A senior boy that had an Impala, dirty blonde hair, and dark green eyes that looked at him with curiosity and suspicion.

 

 


	2. You Are Familiar

 

_"It was the heat of the moment! Heat of the moment, heat of the moment that showed in your eyes..."_

It was six in the morning and sunlight was peeking through the room of a messy teenage boys' room. The alarm clock blaring out Asia for a few seconds before a groan was heard. Out from under a dark blue blanket, on a queen sized bed, rolled in messy sheets was Dean Campbell. He poked his head out blinking and trying to adjust to the sunlight that was starting to fill his room. His mother usually joked to other parents whenever she was out and about in the town getting groceries that if he were to be up before noon or one in the afternoon he would hiss and stay in the dark like a vampire. He glared at his alarm clock, somehow it sounded like it had gotten louder. He hit the snooze button but nothing. He hit it again. Still playing. The hell? He went for plugging out the cord and wound up gracing the floor with his face dragging the clock with him and it smashing against his back. He let out another groan and with a sharp tug finally achieved his goal.

"Worst song to wake up to... ever," he complained to himself. He climbed back into bed and rolled himself up into a burrito, nice and content with the thought of sleep returning to him. He was almost to the land of unconsciousness when his mom walked in and saw him. She had her hand on her hips, a blue collar shirt, jeans, and a golden necklace that had three white orbs in it. Her eyes were green with hazel surrounding the iris and her blonde hair glowed in the dawn of sunlight.

"Dean. Sweetheart wake up," she waited. "Dean," this time sounding more stern. She walked over and ripped off his blanket which Dean thought was was just cruel.

"Five more minutes," he grumbled lazily. Mary just shook her head.

_Kids these days..._

"It's six fifteen already, wake up. You'll be late for school and I don't want your friend calling over here thinking you died... again." She thought of his strange friend that went back to his middle school days that had a strange attachment to his trench coat. Dean just pulled the pillow over his head.

"I'll do the dishes for a month and clean the house twice a week if I don't have to go today," Dean offered a winning smile. His mother thought it over (her son _did_ drive a hard bargain).

She looked out the window where she saw a girl with black flowing hair holding books in her arms, walking in the direction of the school. Mary smiled.

"Isn't that the girl you like? What's her name? Lilith? Lily? _Lisa?_   You can sleep here while I go get acquainted with my future daughter in law," she chuckled and started heading for the door.

"OKAY! I'M UP! I'M UP!" Dean scrambled out of bed and ran past his mom and into the bathroom in less than point five seconds. Mary smiled and looked around his room and it quickly faded. The walls were plastered with posters of Led Zeppelin, AC DC, Metallica, KISS, Blue Oyster Cult, and other classic rock bands. He had the same music taste as John. His clothes were on the floor instead of inside the closet and hamper. There were burger wrappers and old drinks littering the desks too. He had concert DVDs and CD's on top of his book shelves and the books were scattered about. She couldn't even see the carpet! She sighed inwardly, twirling the string of orbs on her necklace. Whenever she did that it was always the smallest one. She couldn't help but wonder about Sam. How had he been doing? Was he growing up fine without her? Most of all, what pained her the most was how did he even look like? She thought about looking John up to go visit Sam specifically but she wondered how she would be received or if John had said anything about her or Dean. He was probably doing just fine without them right? Just like Dean was growing up fine without John. She walked off to the hallway, through the living room, and to the kitchen to set up breakfast.

Just a simple eggs, bacon, toast, and orange juice breakfast for her and Dean. Dean grumbled after his shower wondering how his mom knew about Lisa. It's not as if he had a diary or some crap. He stopped dead in his tracks.

_Dammit Cas. That's the last time I tell you something personal._

Today Dean was wearing a black shirt, a denim pull over, blue faded jeans, a funny looking amulet (he had no recollection of getting it, apparently he got it when he was little), and his brown shoes. Six thirty-five. He gave his room a once over.

_Ehh... It's not too bad._

He sniffed the air, smiling when the scent of bacon hit his nose and headed out toward the kitchen. The walls of the house were a nice baby blue color adorned with some paintings and pictures of Dean and Mary on various vacations in the US. Some pictures were just photos that Mary had taken, she loved photography and worked as a professional photographer for all kinds of events. Dean stumbled in the kitchen, a little tired from a Bruce Lee movie marathon he couldn't resist that lasted until the early hours of the morning. Mary set the plates with a disappointed look on her face.

"What?" Dean questioned. His mom only folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Dean Campbell didn't I tell you to clean your room over the weekend?" She feigned annoyance in her voice.

"Oh yeah, I forgot," He replied lamely taking a bite of his scrambled eggs.

"I want it clean when I get home today or else I'll clean it and if I find ANYTHING that you shouldn't have in there, I'm taking your car away. Understood?"

Dean opened and closed his mouth a few times before answering. "By things I shouldn't have in there you mean...?"

"Dean!" She squeaked in horror at the possibilities of what she'd find in her little boy's room.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Had you going though didn't I?" He laughed.

"Just clean your room. Promise me that much alright?" She sighed.

"Alright. Alright," He was still grinning.

_Now she knows how I felt earlier. Pfft. Future daughter in law..._

That thought made him uneasy. He was still in high school for Christ's sake and Lisa or any girl for that matter shouldn't be given those kinds of ideas. They ate their breakfast comfortably listening to the various mixes of songs on the radio.

Mary thought of bringing up Sam but then she wondered how long it had been or if Dean had even remembered his little brother. He was four years old when they had divorced and she never spoke of it or anything in regards to it. The only evidence or hint of Sam there was or that he existed was in pictures she kept in a box locked away in her bedroom and the smallest little white orb on her necklace but not even Dean even knew what that meant. She hadn't looked at those pictures in years. She looked at the clock and noted that it was six fifty-five in the morning and told Dean to hurry up and finish his food. Upon his leaving the kitchen she gave a long sigh, she knew that John's rage could get out of control sometimes and he tried fixing it with alcohol and a child didn't need to see that kind of behavior from a parent but maybe John had cleaned up after the divorce for Sam. Maybe he had gotten better. Maybe Sam was just fine. Maybe she was worrying over nothing.

She couldn't have been more wrong in her entire life.

Dean ran to his room grabbed his books, notebook, keys, and hurried back to the kitchen to give his mom a sweet goodbye kiss on the cheek.

"Remember to clean your room," She repeated with a monotone voice. Dean was in too much of a hurry to catch it, usually that voice meant she was on the edge of worry and doubt.

"Uh huh yeah after school got it," and with that he was in the garage opening the door, letting the sunlight reflect off the shiny black beauty that was his '67 Chevy Impala. The sight never failed to make him smile in the morning and made getting up early in the morning worth it.

"Hey baby, did ya miss me?" he cooed, "Of course you did." He opened the door and its tell tale squeak was heard. He frowned a bit knowing that he kept forgetting to put WD40 on the doors to get rid of that squeak. He plugged the key to the ignition and turned it, the car roared to life with fierceness. He drove off to Wayward high blasting his radio on the classic rock station. Right now it was blaring Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore by REO Speedwagon. He was surprised when he caught himself singing along to it.

_Dammit. I hate this song..._

While driving he saw the other kids walking to the direction of the school and buses heading to their designated stops for the others. While at a stoplight he checked his watch, it was seven ten. Castiel was probably already picked up and on the way. He pulled into the school parking lot and looked for a close spot. After finding one he got out of his car and saw a blue truck pull up. He squinted his eyes at it. Something had told him he'd seen it before, it'd looked familiar but that was odd. The people he knew in school were Castiel, Ash, Jo, Benny, Kevin, Charlie, and, Garth. Out of all of them he was the only one that had a car and they usually took the bus home. Maybe it was some sort of deja vu thing.

He saw a scrawny looking kid fall out of the car with shaggy brown hair and a brown sweater.

 _Did that kids_ _' dad just-? No. I'm probably just seeing thi-  
_

There were bruises on the side of his face and he looked like he hadn't eaten in a while. The bruises were beginning to fade. He didn't get a good look at the poor kid's dad but he could tell something wasn't right. The poor kid looked like he wanted to cry, scream, or beg for help but he just stayed quiet and scurried away. Something was bugging him, not just the truck but the kid, the kid looked familiar too. Like he had known him before. Dean had a worried look on his face as he watched Sam walk over to table and sit down burying his face in his hands. He didn't notice the buses pull up to the side and soon kids began pouring out and onto the campus. One in particular came walking to him in a suit and trench coat. He had blue eyes and jet black hair.

"Hello Dean," he greeted with a light smile.

"Ah! Cas dammit! I'm getting you a bell if you keep sneaking up on me like that." Dean wasn't exactly thrilled from having been pulled from his thoughts. Castiel tilted his head in confusion.

"It is not my fault you fail to pay attention to your surroundings... I am not a cat either," He felt a need to add the last part thinking it was an insult.

"Just don't sneak up ok?" He took one look at Cas's clothes and rolled his eyes. "Cas would it kill you to wear something that _isn't_ a suit? Jeez."

"I prefer to wear these clothes so others will perceive me as professional," He gave a nod.

"Cas we're in high school, tone it down a notch and take it easy for once will ya?" Dean whined and continued to look at Sam. Cas looked in his direction and at once saw the bruises.

"More bruises..." He noted.

"What Cas?"

"That boy. I noticed you were staring at him. He comes to school each day with bruises on different parts of his face, neck, and legs," Cas looked solemnly.

"You know him Cas?" Dean looked even more worried.

"He is in my English class and P.E. class but I am not friends with him. To my understanding I believe no one is."

"Does he get hurt in your P.E. class?"

"No. Hardly anyone ever does. He is often too weak to do any of the exercises. Mainly he sits around but perhaps he has some sort of respiratory problem or anemia."

Dean noticed that Sam was in some sort of daze. His head kept lolling from side to side like he was going to pass out at any given moment. It was sickening to watch.

"Do you know his name Cas?" Dean swallowed.

"Sam. His last name I am unaware of."

"It's October I thought you'd know his full name or something by now. Wait... English class? We're seniors though!" Dean was a little shocked considering how young he looked.

"He is very smart for a freshman, but doesn't talk to anyone unless there is group work to be done, class readings, and peer revisions. No one can get him to say much else. Why the sudden interest in him Dean?" Cas tilted his head.

Dean looked at Sam then at Cas. "I don't know. He seems familiar plus something's bugging me..."

"What is it?" Cas inquired.

"I think the kid... Ok just before you came that kid- err Sam's dad, I'm not sure but I think I saw him death gripping him and threatening him before he fell out of the car... And those bruises those don't look like average scrapes they look like he got slugged. Take a good look at him right now and look me in the eye and tell me he doesn't look like he isn't getting starved, I mean he looks delirious." Dean was anxious and he looked over at Sam again who was about ready to fall over again but caught himself before he did.

Castiel looked concerned for Sam as well then turned toward Dean.

"Dean those are very serious allegations of child abuse, for all we know they might not be true..." Castiel paused and looked down and he had a look of doubt, not even sure he believed his own words.

"What Cas? What is it?" Dean was a little a hopeful to see that look on his best friend's face.

"However... the thought has crossed our minds." He seemed even more worried.

"Our? Who's our Cas?" If others were suspicious then that wasn't a good sign at all.

"Everyone in the P.E. class and some in the English class too. I have also heard teachers talking as well. One morning he had shown up to school with a bruise on his cheek and he said he ran into a door but in P.E. he told the gym teacher that he was hit with a baseball. He does this everyday whenever he comes to school with different bruises. It doesn't change with just the teachers, it changes with the students. We all have our suspicions that he is being abused but unless he says something or if there is any kind of proof then there is nothing that can be done," he finished with a sad look on his face.

Dean felt sick. How could anyone let this possibly go on? Then he had an idea.

"Cas can you keep an eye on him?"

"For what?" Cas tilted his head in question.

"Well if it's actually true then we just can't sit by and watch this shit go on can we?" He asked.

"I suppose not, I would feel rather guilty sleeping at night. I feel guilty looking at Sam now."

"That's the spirit! Now since he's in two of your classes try and stay real close to him or make friends with him. We have to try and see if we can help in any way. Get any kind of proof. Can you handle it?" He was cheery in light of his plan.

"Yes Dean." Castiel nodded.

"I'll try and dig up any and all dirt on his dad, maybe get some other recruits too, and then when we get enough we'll take it to the authorities." He smiled, it was fool proof.

"Of course, anything to save a life... but what will you do about this feeling of familiarity Dean?"

"I'll figure that out on my own besides maybe its just some deja vu crap anyways, can't be anything game changing."

The bell rung. Seven forty in the morning. Everyone began walking. Dean and Cas looked over at Sam who was startled and took a few seconds to realize that everyone was heading in for their classes. He wobbled a bit and fought to gain balance and walked up the steps and through the door. They both exchanged worried looks.

"Alright. Its go time Cas. Good luck." Dean gave a pat on his back.

"Thanks. I wish you well in your studies Dean," and with that they both parted ways to their classes, Castiel nervous for the first time in his four years of going to Wayward High and Dean with high hopes that they'd get something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there were some bad typos so I fixed them in here also finally going to update in a bit! :D


	3. Act Naturally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hey its finally up after a huge delay! Sorry for that I was taking a summer class and then things happened and next thing I know I have to do some group project and everyone up and quits on me and leaves the work to me then I have to go and stand to a crowd of 150-200 people at some educational conference! It was not worth the stress but anyways here you go and I hope you understand now I will start working again on some other fanfics in progress

 

 Sam hobbled up the steps to Wayward High, his vision blurring in and out of focus. It suddenly felt like his feet were made of lead with each step he took. He walked through the doors with all the other students and into the hallways leading to the classes. Some students coughed due to the place smelling either like cleaner or a new paint job, perhaps even both it was hard to tell. Not because of his lack of focus but because John often mixed various substances in the house and shut all the doors and windows leaving poor Sam trapped inside gasping and wheezing for fresh air while he was gone. Sam shook away the memory from his head because this was school and he didn't need to think about that in his place of escape. The walls were white and the lockers were red and orange reflecting the school mascot of a fire bird (or phoenix Sam preferred to be technical and that actually was what it was especially since it symbolized rebirth).

_What class? What class? ...English! Right. It's this way._

He certainly thought he was moving but in reality he was just standing in the middle of the hallway while everyone bypassed him not even paying him any attention. To Sam it was like they were all flowing by in a flurry of motion, going so fast their faces were blurred. He stood there just breathing and looking around slowly.

"Sam? Are you alright? Sam?" A worried voice asked.

Sam looked in the direction of the voice and saw Castiel looking down at him with worried blue eyes. Sam blinked, barely registering that he had been spoken to.

"Y-Yes. I. I thought I forgot. Something," Sam replied sounding confused.

"Oh. Well... I believe we should head to class now. It is imperative we are not late as Mr. McCleod doesn't approve of tardiness." Castiel was only able to hide his concern for Sam mildly but what he said next flowed out of his mouth unexpectedly before he could stop it. "Where did those bruises come from?"

"What?" Sam tensed.

"Those bruises on your face. Where did they come from? What happened?"

Sam shifted nervously trying to remember what John told him to say. Usually he remembered orders but then again he remembered them best when he was fed. Cas felt a little alarmed when he saw Sam searching for some sort of excuse.

_Please don't lie. Tell the truth._

"I fell. Down. The stairs? I mean. I fell down the stairs." Sam looked away while walking toward the classroom.

That was all it took. That one questioning excuse and that had Castiel looking down hoping that he, Dean, and hopefully some others find a way to help him. He remained quiet trying to figure out a way to respond when they were already in the classroom. Sam started heading for his assigned seat in the middle row in the far right side. Castiel sat in the middle of the class but right now he was regretting having made that decision in favor of keeping an eye on Sam. There were only a few students in class at the moment no doubt the others were rushing to get stuff out of their lockers.  By the door was the teachers desk at he sat there with everything in place and getting ready to take roll soon when the rest of them piled in.

His hair was receding, he always wore black suits and could hardly be seen without a beverage in his hand. Sam found it odd that he preferred to have his students call him by his first name rather than his last. In the end Sam would just call him Mr. Crowley instead. Sam was focused on heading toward his seat and finally sitting down he didn't even notice the teacher giving suspicious looks.

_Maybe he didn't notice my slip up... I have to be more careful or else._

He didn't even want to think about what would happen if the other kids or other people found out about his home life with John. They would pity him and he didn't need anyone's pity or worse... they might start asking questions to John. If John got asked anything... he wasn't even sure if he'd survive that. He was alone and he knew it so he did what he knew what he could to survive and that was to obey and keep his mouth shut about anything. If anyone didn't ask the better, he thought. This was his life until he was old enough to leave. Until then Sam's life was a mere game to John. Sam sighed and pulled out the rough draft of a paper they were doing for some memory book the teacher was having them do. The topic had been about childhood memories and all Sam thought about were constant nights spent alone being in a giant house with thunderstorms booming overhead causing endless amounts of nightmares of monsters popping out of every corner.

"Sam? Could you come here a moment?" Crowley asked.

Sam looked and slowly got up heading to the desk. They went through this routine every few days. He'd ask questions and Sam would lie. Sometimes the stories he came up with were more creative and almost believable at times but Crowley would pretend he'd believe them when really he just grew more worried with every new excuse like the rest of his teachers. Sam breathed in and out trying to keep calm and again trying remember the order. He wobbled a bit in his steps. For a moment he forgot why he was feeling so... he couldn't remember the word but what he could remember was his hunger.

"Y-yes Mr. Crowley?" He looked down. He was used to not looking anyone in the eye unless given permission by John.

"Is everything alright?" He eyed the poor boy. He was looking more thinner by each month.

"Yes, sir. I have all my assignments and-"

"At home Sam. I meant at home," He interrupted.

"Yes. I'm fine." Now the poor kid's voice sounded monotone, void of any emotion.

"...Alright. What happened to you that you got those bruises?" His suspicion rose a little when Sam proceeded to look down and his bangs started to hide his eyes like a veil or curtain. Sam swallowed before speaking.

Castiel was pretending not to listen from his seat while the other kids in the class were listening to their iPods or checking their work.

"I went out for a hike and I fell down from the trail. It had a lot of rocks..." he stood there anxiously.

Cas on the other hand looked at Sam and wondered.

_Why are you protecting him? Why do you let this treatment go on?_

Crowley let out a slow breath having no choice but to believe him. He was gonna have to put an end to this sooner or later even if it meant losing his job.

"Alright. Be more careful next time then?"

"I'll make sure to," Sam muttered and began walking away.

"Sam? Surely you'd tell me if there was something wrong, yes?" He took a sip from his mug of coffee.

Sam stopped and closed his eyes shut for a moment before opening them and blinking away the tears. Cas noted his hesitance and wished Dean were here to witness this. It was just horrible. Sam turned around and put on a fake smile.

"Of course Mr. Crowley... I would." He turned around and walked back to his seat without another word.

A few moments later the bell rang and the rest of the class began pouring in. Each taking their assigned seat. Despite being a freshman none of the seniors in the class picked on Sam. The guys thought he wasn't really worth noticing and the girls thought he was adorable (in a little kid way). Everyone was mindlessly chattering over what they did over the weekend. Crowley was busy taking role at the podium in the front of the class room. Today on the agenda was a peer revision day which meant they had to partner up and trade papers while the teacher offered suggestions while listening in on some when he asked students to read aloud sections.

 Castiel of course decided to use this as an opportunity to keep an eye on Sam. The thing about Castiel was he was socially awkward around other people besides Dean and their little group and Sam? Sam was a quiet student that just kept to himself only talking when needing to or when he was asked but if you asked around the school or the faculty members when he responded, it sounded automatic like a robot. He never really met anyone's eyes either. Castiel didn't have very much a clue on how to get him to talk outside the assignment but he would sure as hell try to. So off into pairs the class went and the class was soon filled with idle chatter about what people had done over the weekend rather than the assignment and Mr. Crowley sat at his desk writing some notes down, though no one payed attention to him but if they had they would have seen him looking at Sam and his bruises, writing down the story of what Sam told him this time and took special note of his frailness.

Crowley stopped for a moment and decided to make another note to start having the nurse inspect Sam. Nurse Masters knew more about these kinds of things anyways but first he needed to do something. He kept that to himself and got up and proceeded to make his rounds walking by the students. Each one reading what he asked and him making more suggestions.

Castiel stayed quiet as he read Sam's paper. He didn't know what to make of it at all. Clearly Sam began wondering if monsters were real and all kinds of things but at such a young age it seemed like he _knew_ they weren't anything but real. He had a few ideas of what could have convinced him of that. The worst part was that he mentioned a monster that thundered through a house with chains that tied bad boys to trees while a thunderstorm was going on outside and how much he hated storms because of that. It occurred then to Castiel whenever a storm raged on outside and the sky thundered with the intensity of an oncoming doom Sam would shake, flinch, and tremble with fear in his eyes and would try to block the noise out. Castiel had wanted to cry by the end of hearing a multitude of other memories included for this one section. He really needed to see Dean immediately.

Castiel's story wasn't much out of the ordinary according to Sam. It was just about his father teaching him how to ride a bike when he was eight. After a few falls Castiel had finally learned (with the help of training wheels). It made Sam want to scream and rip his hair out. His dad was very supportive and loving. In the paper he described how his dad cheered him on watching him go for the first time on his own, up and down the sidewalk. His dad lifted him up in the air and spun him around on his shoulder and gave him a hug. After a few weeks he didn't need the training wheels anymore and was ready for a "big boy" bike and after that they celebrated with ice cream and a movie. His dad bragged about how proud he was that his little boy was a fast learner.

After Sam read it he couldn't help but think, "Why can't John be like that? What is it about me that makes him hate me? What did I do? What makes everyone else so special?" He felt tears building behind his eyes. "Why am I so... so... _unlovable_ _?_ "

Sam felt an ache in his chest and it felt hard to breathe. He began inhaling and exhaling as quietly as possible trying to avoid some sort of unknown crisis.

Crowley walked by and took Sam's paper out of Cas's hand. Castiel was in shock after reading it and Sam was pretending to still be reading his paper.

_A tortured paper from a tortured soul..._

Castiel pulled out his phone while neither were paying attention.

  _To: Dean_

_Dean I'm going to the bathroom_

He hit send and waited for a response.

_From: Dean_

_Okaaaay... I need a pee update from you why? :|_

Cas looked up to the ceiling and silently began asking for patience.

_To: Dean_

_I will be there in five minutes I wish to meet with you there and talk to you about Sam it is of great import_

He looked back up to Crowley and he had a mixed look of disturbance and sadness on his face.

_From: Dean_

_Dude you should've just said so... be there in a bit. you gotta work on your wording there buddy most of the time it just comes out wronger than it should have_

Cas was about to reply but Crowley's voice made him jump.

"Sam this memory book is supposed to make you remember the good things in life. You might not be a senior but good memories are always great moments to reflect upon especially if you're having an off day. You have happy memories right?" He smiled.

Sam on the other hand looked confused, particularly when he said "happy" like he didn't know the meaning of the word. That only sent alarm through both Castiel and Crowley. Sam looked down and blinked a few times and looked back up. Crowley was only met with a blank stare. Sam had now managed to make Castiel uncomfortable. If anyone else in their group were there they probably would've given Sam a medal seeing how uncomfortable he made everyone with his blank stare, but then again had they been there they would have been disturbed and uncomfortable as well.

He was about to say something to Sam when he was called away by another student who needed help. Cas began searching for something to say about Sam's paper. Something, anything to fill the unbearable silence that fell between them. Sam was still avoiding his gaze but shockingly he broke the silence first.

"Your father sounds... very loving and nice," he said in a monotone voice.

Castiel straightened and took a deep breath, "Thank you Samuel. He is very supportive."

_I wish your father was the same._

Another bout of silence passed between them.

"It's a good paper, you just need to fix some spelling mistakes and you're good to go on the final piece." Sam picked on remnants of a sticker on the desk unsure of what to do now that they had free time.

Castiel looked at the clock. There was still half an hour left of class, but he was unsure of what to say about Sam's paper.

"Thank you for your input, I will keep that in mind. Sam your paper is very... interesting," he hoped that was the right thing to say. "It seems like you had a very... adventurous childhood. I can't imagine what made you think of monsters whilst you were younger, but then again as a child or an adult monsters can be found everywhere." He tried offering  a warm comforting smile but Sam wasn't paying attention again. He sighed. "Samuel, I have marked the areas that need improvement, and some minor grammar mistakes. There is not a lot but I hope it helps you, excuse me while I go use the restroom." He got up and walked away to Crowley.

Sam on the other hand looked at his paper and began correcting the mistakes already.

_Why did he say that to me? Is he trying to offer me comfort?_

He shook the thought away. and silently hoped that his paper didn't give away anything about his life with John. That's what little kids thought of normally right? Monsters lurking at every corner waiting to leap out and prey on them or maybe he had an over active imagination. And the lighting and thunderstorms, god it was a good thing monsoon season was nearly over. He hated being chained to that tree while the dog got to stay inside.

_He couldn't offer me comfort if he wanted to. No one can. Everyone that tries, he makes them go away. Forever._

When he was finished he took out a book and began reading. Crowley let Castiel go to the bathroom and was wondering if he should send him to the counselor's office, but on what grounds he didn't know...

 

Castiel walked hurriedly to the men's room and found Dean just barely opening the door.

"Dude there you are! You owe me lunch now." He sounded mildly put off to say the least.

"I do not understand Dean, we have made no bets for me to be in your debt... You sound upset, why are you upset?" They both walked in the bathroom.

"Because of your text man! I lied to the teacher and said it was my mom and the dumbass made me read the text out loud. So I said 'Dean remember to clean your room and wash the dishes when you get home' and then everyone laughed and made fun of me including the teacher!" He crossed his arms. 

Cas hid his amused smile. "Your teacher is Mr. Roman?"

"Yeah, but they don't call him Dick for nothing!" he fumed.

"Dean I believe that is his name." He looked on in confusion while Dean let out a deep breath and wiped his hand over his face.

"I know Cas I meant tha- forget it. More important things to talk about. Now what was it you wanted to discuss about Sam? You kept a good eye on the kid, right?"

"I did, I made sure we were partners for peer revisions," he sighed.

"And?"

"Well before we had gone into class he seemed rather sluggish. He also told me that he received the bruises from falling down the stairs in his home but when the teacher inquired he said he fell down while hiking on a treacherous path. Mr. Crowley asked him if he would tell him if something was wrong at home he was very hesitant."

"Anything else?"

"His paper... You know that in our English classes we are required to do a senior memory book?"

"Yeah, snippets of our lives put on paper for a crappy grade. Seems stupid if you ask me. Wait, he has to do one too? He's not a senior."

"Yes, but a grade is a grade and he might even be far ahead than any in his own class, he may graduate with us. That is not the concern however, what is the concern is what he wrote for his paper. He seems very insistent that monsters are real and one of his memories may include of being chained to a tree during thunderstorms. When I read that paper Dean, all I could feel was the fear, terror, and pain of a tortured soul. I did not even notice his behavior during storms until I read that." Cas's eyes were filled with sorrow.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What behavior during storms? Cas tell me!" he had a sick feeling in his gut just from hearing this.

"He frightens so easily Dean. When the thunder hits he covers his ears and closes his eyes. He shakes and trembles a lot and flinches whenever lighting flashes."

"His dad shouldn't be getting away with this. Not at all. What the hell did the kid ever do to him?!" Dean hit his fist on the wall.

"Dean. We need proof of what's going on until then we can't help. I'm not sure Sam would even say anything. He barely says anything as is."

Dean was going to protest against it but then the door burst open and Ash walked in, mullet and trucker shirt in full glory.

"Whoa! Hola amigos! Why are you hanging around in here? Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Me and Cas are talking business." He rolled his eyes. Ash always took to treating them like children.

"Business? What of?" He began scrubbing soot of his hands, no doubt incinerating something in his science class.

"Are you aware of a boy named Samuel? He comes to school with bruises on different-"

"Parts of his body? Yeah who isn't aware of that kid? Don't tell me you two are planning on beating on the tyke." Ash gave a disapproving look to them both.

"What? Dude no! Hell no! Kid comes to school enough looking like he's been in and out of beatings with no breaks!"

"It is not our intention to cause young Samuel harm. We believe he may be getting those bruises from his father rather than the accidents he speaks of." Cas was exacerbated that Ash would think they'd do such a thing.

"Yeah everyone thinks that. You ain't the only two and I honestly wouldn't be surprised. It's always the mean drunk fathers too." He shook his head of how many times he's heard it on the radio, TV, and read it in the paper.

"His father is a mean drunk?" Dean sounded even more worried.

"Yeah. Down at the Roadhouse where I work with Jo he's there practically almost every day. Ask Ellen how many time's she's had to toss his ass out because of the fights he causes. He's a veteran when it comes to those. Guy knows how to take a mean swing too. It takes at least five to eight bottles for him to get drunk, even on the hard liquor too. He's full of rage when it comes right down to it. Why ya'll interested?"

"We gotta get him out and away from his dad that's why." Dean leaned against the wall with his arms folded.

"Well if ya'll wanna know something listen up... It's not considered child abuse unless there are bruises or other marks on his body. Adios Amigos I gotta go! I'll see y'all at lunch." And with that he left the restroom.

Dean and Cas were quiet for a moment.

"Well there's obvious bruises and marks but we still need actual proof and we need to get Sam to say something other than that the information is useless!" Dean threw his hands in the air.

"I can keep observing Sam from a distance in English and P.E. and we can see if anyone has any classes with him at lunch. It is not much but it is something and it'd be far easier to gather information this way."

"I know Cas. I mean, why won't the poor kid tell someone?

"Perhaps he thinks there is no one to tell. He has no friends and quite possibly no other family. He never socializes with anyone unless he has to. Maybe its not about telling someone maybe its..."

"Survival," Dean looked at Cas.

"It would make sense. That is what most people do when it comes to being held captive or abused. They must do what they can for however long they can to ensure survival."

"Stockholm syndrome?"

"I would say Battered Person Syndrome is more fitting, the only difference is that Sam is to weak to fight back if and when John is vulnerable. Maybe it could be both Syndrome's as well."

"Dammit. This is going to be a lot harder than I thought."

"It would seem so."

"Well, keep an eye on him and write anything down. We'll talk later at lunch."

"Alright Dean." After they went their separate ways Cas walked into class to find everyone still working on their papers.

After twenty minutes of silence between them Sam began to pack his stuff up. Mr. Crowley lectured the class about the proper use of comma's, apostrophe's, and the proper variations of how to use they're, their, and there (needless to say the class was silently being tortured as he spoke and began falling asleep one by one). The bell rang and Sam got up and began wobbling again. He had forgotten his hunger the whole time but now it was coming back to remind him with a vengeance as was his deliriousness. Luckily, he made it out the door but he blamed his footing due to sitting all period.

Mr. Crowley watched him go out the door. As soon as the students were gone he did two things: One. He reported Sam to Nurse Masters and Two. Unknowingly did the worst thing for Sam's physical health.

He called John Winchester to voice his concerns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	4. Back and Forth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> excuse the major delay I've been having major medical problems hopefully they don't come back... ever! piled with school as well it sucks :( anyways enjoy the extremely long chapter! Again, sorry! I'll write bits and pieces for the next chapter over the weekend

 

After English class came Calculus for Sam. He hobbled up the steps to the next floor wobbling from side to side trying to fight the deliriousness his weakened and hungered state left him. He nearly fell over a couple times just barely catching himself on the rail before any major damage could be done and avoided everyone's gaze. Had he looked he would have seen the strange looks from some, worried looks from others, and curious stares but he didn't. He kept on walking up the steps as best as he could until he reached the classroom. He heaved in a couple harsh breaths which was strange even for him.

_When had taking stairs become so increasingly difficult?_

He couldn't help but wonder. He shook the thought away as soon as the teacher came in. Her black hair was short and curved around her neck. Slight wrinkles had adorned her face but seemingly didn't make her older. Her pink lip stick managed to go well with her light blue eye shadow. She wore a white button top with a black shirt underneath and blue jeans. She took a small sip of her iced coffee and put it on her desk behind her name tag, _Ms. Linda Tran._

She began writing the start equation of the day's lesson on the board. Sam looked through his bag and pulled out his book and homework. His vision blurred and swam at the mere energy it took. He closed his eyes and began taking deep even breaths though when he opened them he was only met with a look of concern from Ms. Tran.

 "Are you alright Mr. Winchester?" She noticed the bruises of course, it was hard not to with this student.

"I'm fine, just a little dizzy," he reassured her. At least it wasn't a complete and total lie.

She raised an eyebrow when he looked away. Being a mother herself every instinct in her was screaming that something was very wrong, not just on the bruises alone but on the fact that he spaced out a lot. He was ahead in the class of course so it wouldn't matter but this wasn't regular spacing out through sheer boredom like most students do it was spacing out from lack of sleep, energy, perhaps even lack of... food. Though she thought it was a little preposterous.This was a child, a life for god's sake! What parent would disregard that or keep their child from being fed or not even have the ability to notice? She imagined it would be a pretty horrible and cruel one at that. She scribbled a note to report that to Nurse Masters.

Students began coming in the classroom in their groups. Her son Kevin rushed in as the bell to start class rang. He had long black hair going past his ears and like Cas tended to dress formal for school. He wore a white button top shirt tucked into tan pants, a navy blue jacket over it and dark brown shoes. Kevin sat in front left column close to his mother's desk.

Sam of course preferred to sit in the back of the class so as to not be noticed. Today they were working on derivatives. Sam barely listened as she droned on about limits. His head began to feel heavy as he fought to stay awake. His vision began to blur again and his mind grew hazy and clouded. Ms. Tran of course noticed as does every teacher of his and made another note to look up what other teachers he has and perhaps maybe have a sort of conference with them and him. The other students poured in the classroom as the bell rang.

Luckily today was another review day so he hardly participated in those and didn't bother listening to his peers getting the wrong answers, well except Kevin. They were the most smartest in the class but they rarely spoke inside and outside of class. Ms. Tran decided to change all that by having the class reorganize the desks into pairs of two.

"Sam Winchester why don't you sit next to Kevin?" She motioned to her son who already had a desk facing his. He merely gave a grunt and slowly walked his way over with his stuff. He breathed heavily when he sat down in front of Kevin. Kevin looked at him and grew suspicious of the bruises due to having been beat up a lot. Ms. Tran was busy answering the phone and the class was filled with idle chatter.

Kevin turned away looking out the window and began tapping his fingers nervously until his curiosity got the better of him.

"So, um, Sam was it? What happened to you that you got those bruises?" Kevin felt a little bad for asking since he felt like Sam was staring holes into him.

Sam on the other hand just realized he had been spoken to and shook out of his daze.

"Yeah it's Sam... I got them from... from...." _What was I supposed to say?_ _,_ "from...." And then he spaced out. Kevin blinked when he went unresponsive. The silence went on for minutes as he stared at the wall behind Kevin.

What felt like a few seconds going by turned into countless minutes.

"Uh, Sam? Sam?" Kevin wrung his hands in his shirt.

"What?," He looked dazed, "was I called for something?"

Kevin looked a little concerned, "No I just... you were kinda lost for a moment there." He didn't bother repeating the question but Sam remembered what he had asked.

"The bruises um, I got them from Gordon Walker and some of his friends..." he looked down.

Kevin sighed, he used to get beat up by Gordon and his little group. They for some reason had it out for "nerds" or anyone that closely resembled one. Since they had gotten caught trying to beat up Kevin they had left him alone and apparently got a new target that was sitting in front of him.

"Shouldn't you tell a teacher or something?" Kevin asked.

Sam shook his head, "No, No that would only... make things worse." he muttered.

And that was when Kevin got the feeling he wasn't talking about Gordon anymore plus even though they liked to beat people up they only left bruises on the stomach, chest, or legs. Places where they weren't visible by teachers. Kevin wasn't strong or anything you would call toned in regards to muscle but Dean was. Dean would always protect anyone that got picked on and dealt with Gordon and his bands of misfits because they tried to have a go at Cas a few times.

_His dad probably caused those or maybe Gordon. I'll tell Dean just in case it is Gordon. I'll ask my mom in case it's his dad._

Ms. Tran went on with her lecture after the phone call ended. She gave them review sheets on limits and had them check with their partners. She typed grades into her computer and kept an eye on Sam. Finishing that small task she looked up his schedule and began jotting down some of the names of his teachers and searched for their room numbers and phone numbers. She jotted Nurse Masters phone too. Before she knew it the bell rang for class to be over. Students gathered their stuff and began to leave.

"Kevin, come here." She stated organizing piles of paper on her desk. The other classmates all went in a chorus of "oooooooooooooh" Kevin just rolled his eyes at the stupid antic. Just because he was a teacher's kid he always got that sort of response when he got called to stay after.

Sam stumbled for a little bit and then proceeded to walk out the door in a straight line with determination.

He groaned internally. His next class was P.E. and he just hated it for a multitude of reasons. Gordon was in that class, he was constantly receiving pitied looks from the teacher, and other students he was sure of talked about him and the bruises he always had. But he trudged onward in the direction of the gym.

"Kevin sweetheart," she began wondering where to start.

"Yeah mom?" he answered seeing the troubled look on her face.

"Did Sam seem okay to you?" She asked.

"Uhhh, no, not really, I mean he spaced out constantly during class. It was like he was in his own world most of the time," he answered remembering the empty stare Sam gave.

"And the bruises? Did you ask where they came from?"

He looked at her for a few seconds. "Yeah. He said he got beat up by Gordon and his friends..." he looked down.

His mother inwardly sighed. Gordon was no good and neither were his friends but she got the feeling her son was hiding something.

"Kevin is that all he said?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah but-"

"But what?" she inclined.

"I don't think he's telling the truth. Gordon doesn't leave any visible evidence from what I heard. It could be someone else. Someone like a, uh, family member maybe but that's just what I think." He hastily added that last part hoping not to set any unnecessary alarms off.

"I'll talk to Gordon then, but if it's not I'm sure the school will look into it." She scribbled a late pass for him and he went off. This wasn't good. If her son suspected the same thing then it can't be a coincidence. She made a call to nurse Masters to report him unaware that another teacher made the call too.

 

Castiel was on his phone dialing for Dean in between classes.

"Whats up Cas?" he answered.

"Hello Dean, I am unaware as what to do in regards to Samuel in class. I'm aware I must observe him but what should I report?" he pondered not taking noticing of others strange looks when they heard him.

"It's your P.E. class right?"

"Yes."

"Well just look for out of the ordinary stuff like if he has anymore bruises, if he looks more skinnier than he actually is, or if he has trouble doing anything athletic like small workouts."

"Ah yes thank you. Should we not tell a teacher of all this?"

"The kid is going to straight forward deny it until his dying breath Cas. Remember? It's a survival thing he's doing. If he denies it to the teachers and school more than likely they won't do anything. It's his word against anyone's."

Castiel chuckled.

"What?"

"Is there nothing you won't do for Sam?"

He heard Dean sigh. "I don't know Cas I just feel inclined to protect the kid and keep him safe. I don't know why its affecting me more than it should. I can't just sit on my ass while this goes on, it just feels wrong."

"Dean Campbell... Savior of many." Cas smiled.

"Shut up Cas," he grumbled and with that he hung up.

 

Sam headed in the locker room but didn't take off his clothes right away instead he took them out of his locker and went to the shower section to change. He always did that everyday to avoid questions from unseen bruises. When he took off shirt he couldn't help but cringe at the sight of the bruise that went from his left side to his bellybutton. As sad as it was he couldn't feel sorry for himself. The only thing Sam felt was determination to not anger John and not get thrown down the stairs again. He still remembered the cold glare John gave him and the vice grip he had on his neck before throwing him down. He shook his head to get rid of those memories and turned his focus back to school. He dressed and rushed to put his clothes in his locker and went out to the field where they usually met.

Cas had changed his clothes as well, though Dean often joked that the only way they ever got him to change was a detention or a pink slip to send him straight to the office. All the P.E. outfits weren't anything special just a grey shirt and red shorts for the boys and yellow for the girls. He never said it out loud lest he get teased by Dean and the others but being in something other than his trench coat and suit made him feel naked. He looked around the locker room but he didn't see Sam anywhere. Most of the boys were already heading out and he did so as well.

Sam was already standing in his marked spot by the bleachers by the track field his head of course was hung low as he stared at the ground. The boys thought he was antisocial and the girls just thought he was quiet, but the one thing they all seemed to agree on was that he was a fragile little child and they didn't know how to deal with that.

Cas saw another purple bruise on the back of his right leg and sighed.

_Why? Why would you not let someone help you? Especially since it pains people to see you like this? How can you go on with this torment being done? Sam, I and Dean will help you through this I swear it._

A whistle was blown and the students grew quiet. Making their way over was their teacher, Rufus Turner. He was a dark skinned fellow with hair receding. He had dark brown eyes and a black mustache. Unlike the students he was dressed in denim pants, a white shirt, and a light blue button over shirt. Why, you ask? Because he very damn well can and according to him " _It's none of your business now drop and give me twenty!_ " Along with that, as you noticed, he has take-no-shit attitude and could make any troublesome student regret messing around if he caught them in the act.

"Alright everyone stretch your limbs out and do what I tell you to do. Gallagher! Quit your laughing or you get twenty extra push ups to your routine!" He barked, "As I was saying first stretch for five minutes, then do twenty jumping jacks and ten push ups, after that two laps around the track. Clear?"

"Yes, coach Turner," they all mumbled.

He turned and walked to Sam after everyone went to the field to start the daily routine.

"Boy, you look like you went to hell and back. What happened this time?" He crossed his arms and took a good long look at the bruises on his face and took note of the barely visible one on his leg.

Sam was leaning against the gate trying to appear "normal" to everyone.

"I fell off my bike," he replied.

Coach Turner let out a breath and scratched his head. "Alright then, go with the rest of the class and try to do the workouts."

"Yes, sir." and with that Sam walked with the other and stretched. His abdomen started screaming in protest when he started on the jumping jacks. After doing only seven jumping jacks he stopped and tried to catch his breath.

Other students kept looking at him with concern. Cas noted his struggle and typed it in his phone. When he started coughing that's when everyone stared, Some began whispering.

Rufus started jotting down notes, one being about his health state weakening day by day and another about how many bruises were on him this time. When the push ups started Sam could barely lift himself off the ground for five seconds. He couldn't do it but still he tried and every other day too. He lay on the ground panting from the one he almost did and felt tears starting to come.

_"You're weak! Always will be! You wouldn't last a day on your own!"_ He heard John's voice in his head constantly. He couldn't cry though, too many people were there to witness his humiliation.

Rufus sighed, "Winchester! Over to the benches."

Sam shook his head. _No. No, I can do this._

He tried yet again and only made it halfway through a push up before falling back down and taking harsh breaths.He tried yet again. He gave a few deep breaths to even his heart rate and lifted himself off the ground with what little strength he had left. He went off the ground for a few inches not even meeting the halfway point. His arms began shaking at the unbearable strain he was putting himself under. Everyone looked at him for a second and immediately turned away. One of the girls looked like she wanted to cry and reach out for him but she went back knowing he didn't want help. Some classmates shook their heads. Cas's eyes began to water before he blinked them away.

_Stop! Please for heaven's sake stop. When you torture yourself, you torture us as well._

"Winchester! I said to the benches!" Rufus ordered but he didn't threaten any punishment.

Sam curled up and pushed himself up not meeting anyone's eyes and struggled to stand up. His stomach growled, demanding for food that was never going to come. Cas was done with his routine and grabbed Sam's right arm. Sam looked up to see Cas's sad eyes before turning his head away. He didn't want any pity from anyone. Cas pulled him up so he was standing and helped him walk to the benches. Cas didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say at all.

"Thank you Castiel," Rufus remarked and Castiel gave a nod. "Sam if you're too weak to do the workouts you need to tell me or someone. You're gonna land yourself in the nurse's office or the hospital over exerting yourself like that." When he received no reply he walked away toward the other students.

"I'm not weak..." Sam said to himself. "I'm not... anything." He squeezed his eyes shut before any tears could fall out.

Sam left to go use the bathroom and locked himself in the stall, sitting on the top of the toilet. He breathed in and out for a minute trying to calm himself but he stopped and started sniffling. He cried silently knowing anyone could come in at any moment.

_Why? What did I do to deserve this?_

He wiped his eyes with his arm. He looked at both his arms and forgot about the scars of nicks and cuts that were there. Some came from broken fragments of bottles John would throw at him other times he just pulled out a knife and held him down with one hand and cutting with the other. He steeled himself, getting out of the stall and looked in the mirror. His eyes were red and puffy. His nose was pink at the tip. He splashed water in his face and decided that it was better to lie again than having to explain the actual reason for crying. If anyone asked he would tell them that he had something in his eye and it was stinging. He gave a harsh breath and walked out to go over to the benches. Some students had already started on their first lap of running.

_One day I'll be able to do the exercises without worrying anyone. One day..._

He looked at the track for a moment and moved forward only to be blocked by an arm with a clip board. His gaze went up and Coach Turner looked him straight in the eye.

"Sam you know you can't do the exercises, what makes you think running the course will be different?" Rufus guessed that if Sam were to run, he'd only get as far as ten feet hacking up a lung if not passing out.

"I want to try..." he mumbled. _I want to prove I can do this. Prove that I'm not weak._

"Look, I appreciate your effort or enthusiasm but that will only put you in serious condition." Rufus looked at Sam with concern in his eyes, but to Sam it would only be pity that he received from anyone.

He sat back down sighing. He watched them all pass by on the track. After ten minutes everyone was done and they all met with the Coach. They were gasping and huffing.

"Alright then today on the agenda it's flag football," He said looking at his clipboard.

There were some yes's and groans going throughout the class. The teams were picked (naturally the students chose the stronger ones first and the weaker ones last) and soon they were all tackling each other even though the game was clearly flag football. Sam spent the whole class daydreaming of what it was like to be them. To be... normal. He also wondered what it was like to have a mom. To have someone care about him, hug him, and tell him how silly nightmares were and that they were just bad dreams. To be able to have food whenever he so desired and something that was freshly made and have the word home have meaning. What it would be like to have friends that hung out with him because they liked him, asking him to go over to their houses and have fun. To actually be able to sleep in a normal bed with nice clean sheets and soft pillows. To feel cozy on weekends with no homework and sleep in without a care in the world.

He couldn't be happy right now but he would be happy in his dreamland and that was what usually kept him going. That once he was old enough he would leave and never come back and his father would never be able to find any trace of him whatsoever. Maybe when he was older he'd be able to find his mom or what happened to her that she wasn't there now. Sam blinked and gave a small smile at the thought. Yeah. That's exactly what he'd do. He'd go find out what happened to her and the answers to his other questions.

Castiel sent texts to Dean whenever Coach Turner wasn't looking. With each upsetting text, Dean was getting more agitated and angry with Sam's dad. He swore that when he was taken down it would be for good there was no convincing otherwise. Likewise, Castiel agreed on the grounds that no one should be getting away with a crime this big especially at the state Sam was in. Thinking about seeing Sam struggle like that got him a little teary eyed again.

Coach Turner blew his whistle and everyone went to the locker rooms and changed out into their normal clothes again. The bell rang and Sam slowly made his way to his locker putting back his clothes.

It was now free period and students could now do as they wished. Which meant Sam went to the library, Cas went to the computer lab to work on his paper, and Dean well he just hung out in the shade listening to his music.

Sam heard snickering and scuttling about in the library and kept ignoring it. The librarians kept looking up at the section of the library he was in but only saw Sam. They had puzzled looks about where that was coming from. Sam was reading Sherlock Holmes stories, though it was hard because of the constant noises. Someone was up to something no doubt and that was confirmed when Gordon Walker came out looking at Sam with a sort of viciousness. The snickering though didn't come from Gordon, in fact, it grew quieter when he got near Sam. Sam kept on reading The Study in Scarlet. He knew Gordon was gonna pick on him. There was no other reason for him to be smiling like that and going near him.

"Hey there Sammy." He gave a crooked smile.

Sam grew nervous and hesitant before answering, "It's Sam."

"I'll just call you Sammy because we're buddies." He leaned back in his chair and relaxed, though his voice sounded threatening and suspicious.

Before Sam could reply the sound of a rubber band stretching back was heard and then Gordon was hit with a stink bomb that left green smoke and it began filling the area around him.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Gordon yelled.

Sam jumped in his seat but not at Gordon, no, he heard a slight sizzling noise and then noise of inevitable loud pops was heard. There were firecrackers behind Gordon! In a school though it sounded close to gun shots making everyone either scream, duck down to the floor, or run. Sam ran off to the side of the library that was clear of the smoke and began coughing, trying to breathe. The librarians freaked out and called the campus security and within minutes they saw Gordon, the green smoke, and the firecrackers still going off. They tackled him and he was being picked up and driven away in a golf cart that said security. Sam was sitting in a corner trying to catch his breath. He shook his head wondering what that was about and who had done it. It took twenty minutes for that horrid egg rotting smell to go away and the library was back to normal with just murmurs of the incident. He couldn't help but wonder if whoever was up to mischief had gotten Gordon on accident and was instead aiming for him. He wouldn't be surprised or shocked if that was the matter but then again he hasn't harmed a fly at all so what was the point? He then decided it was just a prank because every now and then Gordon had been known to pick on others, he basically had it coming to him. Especially hearing that two weeks ago he played a similar prank on Andy Gallagher and he was suspended for two days. All in all it was just desserts and it was nice to see that happen every once in a while.

He spent the rest of free period just reading the book of Sherlock Holmes stories and decided to check it out. The librarians frowned at the bruises on the right side of his face and neck. He scurried away and left before they could ask questions. He'd have to suffer another few classes of it. Upon leaving he thought he heard a cackle or chuckling but he saw no one around him. The librarians didn't seem to hear it nor anyone else maybe he was hearing things. The bell rang and signaled lunch time for the whole school. Sam went to the cafeteria and sat at the same table in the corner that he always did. He pulled his book and paper out to fix the mistakes Cas pointed out.

The smell of the food wafting around the place made his mouth water. He swallowed and ignored the constant grumble in his stomach.

_Maybe he'll give me food today. I've been a good boy over the weekend. He'll have to give me food._

He shook the thoughts away and focused on his activities.

Dean and Cas sat down at their table with their lunch trays in front of them. Dean gotten a few tacos, Cheetos, and some soda. Cas just got two cheeseburgers, fries, and lemonade. While waiting for their friends to get out of the mess of crowds Dean began scanning the area for Sam.

"Hey Cas you think Sam eats in here or hides away from everyone?" He bit into his taco.

"Well, I would imagine so but he looks far too thin and frail. I don't think that if he ate he would look at that," Cas began looking around too.

"Yeah, good point-"

"Hola amigos! What's with all the looking?" Ash interrupted.

"We are looking for Samuel." Cas bit into his cheeseburger.

Dean was about to answer when the rest of his little crew came and plopped down at the table to eat.

"What are you guys looking for?" He asked. He plate was filled with lots of food but no matter how much he ate he always seemed to stay scrawny. He wore a teal jacket over his brown shirt.

"We're looking for a kid named Sam. He's short and scrawny. More scrawnier than you Garth."

"Scrawnier than Garth? That's a first." Jo chuckled and threw a french fry in Garth's direction. She had blonde hair, brown eyes, and had pink lips. She also had a killer attitude towards men that tried to get into her pants. She wore a tank top and faded flare jeans.

"It's not like I don't try to do something about it, maybe you're all just fat." He laughed until Jo and Charlie started hitting him.

"We're not fat!" Charlie smacked him with her Legend of Zelda folder. She always had things like that. Shirts of her favorite games or characters and was even in the LARP club at the school. They joked about how much of a dork she was but they loved her all the same.

"Brother don't mention the "f-word" around women, they don't like it." Benny chuckled sitting down. Wearing his black coat and favorite cap.

"Yeah I think I got the message! Guys come on I was joking!" He cried from the barrage of smacks.

They both calmed down and huffed. "We're not fat," they both grumbled munching on fries.

"Guys focus. Like I was saying scrawnier than Garth, and he comes to school with bruises all the time. Looks like he takes a real bad beating and probably looks like he'll pass out anytime. You guy's know who I'm talking about?" Dean looked at them.

"You mean Sam Winchester?" Kevin offered.

"Yeah! That kid. Any of you know him or have classes with him?" He asked.

"I have Calculus with him but that's it," Kevin bit into his salad.

"No classes with him but I know of him, and I often have to call my mom to deal with his drunk dad at our bar," Jo added.

"That kid is known throughout the school man, its hard not to know about him," Benny said before taking a sip of his soda.

"I don't have any classes with the tyke. Wish I did though, kid looks like all he need's is a friend or someone," Ash shook his head.

"I got A.P. Biology with Sam. He doesn't say anything though, just does his work and does stuff by himself." Garth looked down recalling from what he had noticed over the semester.

"You mean that kid over there?" Charlie pointed at the corner of the cafeteria.

Dean wanted to smack himself. How did he not notice that practically empty table in the corner? It only had Sam there and he looked worse than this morning. He was really pale and looked like he was going to fall over again.

"Jesus Christ," Dean muttered, "He looks worse than this morning!"

"Why are you asking about Sam?" Kevin looked a little upset at Sam's state.

"I think his dad's beating and the starving the kid. Just look at him! It's pretty freaking horrible that it's gone on this long if not, longer. No parent should ever get away with that!" Dean slammed his hand down on the table. "Anyways I was just thinking that if it is his dad doing this, that maybe we could gather evidence and once we got enough we take it straight to the authorities," he shrugged.

The others thought for a little a bit, looking at Sam and sighing. They all had to agree the evidence was right in front of them.

"Alright amigo, we'll help," Ash clunked his drink against Dean.

"You will?" Dean looked surprised.

Benny scoffed at the face Dean made, "Yeah if anyone needs help at all its the little man."

"Perhaps we should get Samuel over here and try to make friends with him. I believe that will be the easiest way to monitor him and maybe he will, in time, talk to us about what his father does to him. Or at least reach out for help with us there." Castiel said thoughtfully.

"Great idea Cas! Now who wants to go over and ask?" Dean looked at them. Garth immediately straightened to stand up but was grabbed by Jo.

"I don't think he's gonna react well to an attack hug Garth," She patted his shoulder.

"Good point," he conceded.

"Cas and Kevin are out..." They both looked at Dean in confusion. "Unless you all want to win the worlds most awkward silent staring contest." Cas looked away and Kevin looked down and took another bite of his salad.

"Ash?" Dean looked at him.

"I don't think he'll take to me very well," he made a point by crushing a can to his head and burping. Loudly. Dean rolled his eyes.

"Jo... Nope. Way too much fire and ice in your veins," Jo smiled at that.

"You realize that fire and ice cancel each other out don't you?" Charlie stared at Dean.

" **Too much fire and ice in her veins.** " He repeated.

"Benny you look a bit much like a serial killer with that coat and it can't be me. I'll probably frighten the poor kid or he'll think I want to beat him up," he muttered. Everyone looked at Charlie and smiled.

"Me? What makes you think we won't have an awkward and silent staring contest? Or maybe I could have fire and ice in my-" Jo began laughing.

"Hey! Shut up stupid head!" Charlie pointed a fork at her.

"Stupid head? Oh yeah you're really showing it now!" Jo cracked up.

"Charlie please?" Dean stared at her.

She sighed, "Fine. You bitches owe me for this." Pointing at all of them and the second she stood up the bell rang.

"What? Already? That fast?!" Dean asked as he grabbed his stuff.

"Time flies I guess," Kevin got his back pack.

They all said their goodbyes and Dean was gonna have Charlie speak to Sam tomorrow... _Winchester. Why does that sound familiar?_ He thought as he went to class.

Sam grabbed his stuff to go.

" _Sam Winchester to the nurse's office. Sam Winchester to the nurse's office, thank you."_

Sam sighed and trudged to the nurse's office.

Meanwhile at his workshop John closed early. His fist clenching, ready to hit something. He went to the store to grab some vodka and then he was going to go home and wait for the boy.

 

 


	5. Everybody Talks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A day later than I originally thought meh *shrugs* sorry I had to rewrite the whole chapter since my laptop deleted it for some reason but enjoy :)

 

Sam walked grudgingly to the nurse's office receiving stares from many unknown faces. He began to wobble and strayed to the wall, leaning on it with his hand for support. He kept his eyes glued to the floor as he trudged on. The whispering started up again.

"I heard he got thrown out of a car."

"I heard he was hit by one."

"That's not true, I heard him tell the teacher he fell while on a hike."

"Someone else said he was beat up by Gordon."

"I heard that his dad beats him while he's drunk."

"By who? His dad? No way! A parent like that would've been caught a while ago! There's laws against that kind of thing."

"If it was his own dad beating him up I'm pretty sure that he would go to someone for help."

"I heard him tell Coach Turner he fell off a bike."

"Poor kid I wish we could help him."

"He probably does that for attention. What a crybaby..."

On and on the whispers went. Problem about those was that no one ever knew which one was true and some didn't even think he was being beaten because he changed the stories constantly. Out of the whole student body only twenty five percent thought it was true, fifty percent thought it was rumors, and the last twenty five thought it was a cry for attention. That was gonna change real soon...

_Maybe it's another one of those eye or hearing exams they give..._

Sam clung onto that possibility for dear life. He got the feeling he was being watched but then again everyone always had their eyes on him when he walked into school every morning. His feet felt heavier than lead which slowed his pace. A couple students hanging around their lockers took one look at poor Sam and winced. One girl subconsciously began rubbing her neck where Sam's bruise was supposed to be. He shook his head keeping thoughts of food away and rounded the corner where the nurse's office was. He leaned on the wall taking a couple breaths. He reached for the door handle and slowly turned it. The door felt like it weighed a ton. He grabbed the handle with both hands and began to pull with any energy he had left. It slowly began to open, wider and wider it went until it was half way open then he rushed in.

_Why are doors beginning to become hard to open?_

The bell rang for classes to start. Sam tensed up with alert thinking something far worse was going to happen and sighed with relief when he realized it was just the school bell. The nurse's station was empty. He looked around at the health posters on the wall. One was listing all the ways smoking harms your body, another about importance of vitamins and nutrients, and various others of avoiding certain sickness. He decided to sit in one of the chairs against the wall and wait. The silence was becoming unbearable after just a few minutes. After several minutes a woman with brown curly hair appeared. She wore a light blue shirt and dark blue pants with black shoes.

"Are you Sam Winchester?" She asked.

Sam looked at her with a questioning gaze until his mind caught up with what she asked. He only nodded and went back to his usual solace in staring at the floor.

"Put your name, date, and time." She handed him a clip board and pen.

He grabbed it and filled it out while she put on some gloves and looked at her computer with messages from the teachers. She studied their notes on Sam and his condition. From Crowley it was the bruises, and his story about falling down the trail. From Ms. Tran it was his deliriousness and his behavior. From Rufus it was the bruises, his story about falling off his bike, and his physical activity taking a nosedive. She wrote them all down and began taking note of his appearance. She was surprised that no one noticed how skinny and worn his clothes looked. She wrote about his frail appearance and the trembles he was starting to have.

She put the clip board down and went to the fridge and pulled out a apple, a peanut butter and banana sandwich, and a bottle of juice. She then put them on her desk and once Sam was done filling out the form she led him to a desk and had him sit there. She grabbed the food and put it in front of him. He looked up at her in question.

"Those are for you. You look... hungry. Did you have anything to eat today?"

Sam shook his head and she wrote it down. He looked at the food and his stomach growled in anticipation. On one hand he was starving and ready to eat just about anything, but on the other his brain was screaming at him to not take the food.

_You can't eat unless he tells you to. He forbid you to eat until he tells you. He'll find out! He always finds out..._

Others would call it paranoia but Sam? He called it instinct. So he stared at it. Nurse Master saw the hunger in his eyes and wrote that down. She had started compiling a list at that point.

"So Sam, wanna tell me where you got those honey?" she pointed at the bruises.

Sam swallowed, "I ran into the door." It was a crappy excuse but he forgot all the others and what John told him to say.

"I see," she wrote that down. On her list was bruises, possible starvation, frailness, refusal to make friends or some form of companionship, inability to make meaningful relationships, possible signs of dehydration, refusal to maintain eye contact and... pathological liar? She looked at the untouched food.

"Sam I told you to eat," She reminded him. She was about to say something else but was called away by someone outside of the door needing a wheelchair for another student.

"Stay here ok? and eat." She grabbed the wheelchair and headed off.

Sam looked after her and when the door closed he grabbed the apple and bit into it with a viciousness. He took several bites putting it down and tore open the sandwich wrapper. He was breathing in heavily and ripped apart the sandwich stuffing pieces in his mouth before biting another piece off the apple. He chewed loudly and groaned in relief at the taste.

_Food. At long last food._

He left the core on the table and stuffed the rest of the sandwich in his mouth. He chugged down the bottle of juice, swallowing each mouthful as if he was dying of thirst. He evened his breath and froze in panic.

_I ate food. I broke the rules. I shouldn't have done that! Why did I do_ _that? I'm gonna have to go another few days without food...  
_

He looked down in shame at what he'd done. Images went through his mind at what John was going to do to him. He knew not to say anything if teachers or other people got concerned. To Sam there was no point in telling anyone because John made them go away. He somehow came up with believable lies to tell anyone who got nosy. In various elementary schools he convinced all the staff that Sam was only doing it for attention because he didn't like it when John went to work (since he was supposedly the only family Sam had and saw John as abandoning him) so he hurt himself as much as possible. In middle school the story was that Sam refused to listen to John, leaving after school was over and returning to the house with the bruises that had no explanation (somehow that was believable even though Sam was a straight A student, teachers thought that was why he never made friends). One teacher called his bluff and made allegations that Sam was being abused and that led to John showing up at the school and arguing with the principle and teacher. John was "shocked" that a teacher said that and somehow turned the situation on the teacher and as a result the teacher was fired. Sam was forced to sleep outside for two weeks with newspaper as a blanket after that. Since then Sam made sure to never garner any sort of attention like that ever again. He told his friend Amy in eighth grade that he liked to go out and adventure in the woods if she ever asked about the marks. Somehow she understood him and was the only person that attempted to be his friend. Sam liked her in the sense that she made it so easy to forget everything bad that happened. But he was in high school now and she moved away so Sam was left on his own again... or so he thought.

The sound of Nurse Masters coming back in broke him out of his thoughts. She returned with a blonde haired girl with blue eyes wearing a gold and red cheer leading outfit with the fire bird in the middle of the shirt. Apparently one of the guys didn't catch her when she twirled in the air and she was now nursing a swollen and sprained ankle. Nurse Masters helped her out of the chair towards a bed on the left side of the room.

"Alright Jessica I'll be with you in a minute. I'll go grab a ice pack for you, don't put any weight on your leg," She said and looked over at Sam in surprise. He had actually eaten the food.

"Sam just sit tight for a little bit longer, alright?" she knelt in front of him and put a hand on his shoulder. His only reply was a nod and with that she went to the little supply room next to her examination room.

"Hey, um, Sam was it? Are you okay?" Jessica looked at him but was only met with silence. "Look I heard these crazy stories about you. One was that you got hit by a car or fell down the stairs and other things but which one is true? If you don't mind me asking that is..."

Sam turned away from her hoping she'd get the fact that he was in a non conversational mood. He missed the silence already.

"Not the talkative type are you?" She raised an eyebrow. Sam only huffed.

_Please stop talking. You're as bad as the rest of them._

Nurse Masters came back and instructed Jessica ("Its Jess, I hate it when people call me that") Moore to lie down with the pack around her ankle. The she made her way back to Sam.

"Sam I've been getting some emails lately from your teachers about the bruises on your face as well as the condition of your health decline over the past few months. Can you tell me where they're coming from?"

Sam shook his head no shrinking in his seat. _Not again. I thought I was being more careful. Please just leave me alone._

"They have to be coming from somewhere. The staff and various students are becoming worried about your health. Coach Turner said you could barely do a push up and you tried over exerting yourself in the process. Sam?"

He was avoiding her gaze, tears evident in his eyes. He just wanted to be left alone, why could no one understand that?

Jess was eavesdropping but it's not like she wasn't able to. They were in the same room so she could hear everything obviously.

"Sam you're leaving me with no option here other than to call your father," she stated and reached for the phone.

"What?" Sam's heart began racing, "There's nothing wrong with me! Why does everyone assume something's wrong?! I'm fine! I'm ok! I just ran into the door. You don't have to call him! You don't have to call anyone!" Sam was becoming frantic.

"It won't be a problem. Just tell me where the bruises came from. Tell me, is your father hurting you in any way?" She pressed.

"No! I ran into a door! I already told you! I ran into a door! Why won't you believe me? Why doesn't anyone believe me?!" He shrieked.

_They're gonna find out! They're gonna find out! Do something!_

His mind was screaming at him and his heart felt like it was going to explode out of his chest it was beating so fast. He was on the verge of crying but fought against it. That would be a dead give away if the yelling wasn't already.

Jess cupped her hands around her mouth. She asked but now she knew the truth for sure. She remained as though she wasn't there. As horrible as it was she knew there was nothing she or anyone else could do.

Nurse Masters put the phone away to calm Sam down.

"It's okay Sam they're just questions. I have to ask because many people are worried about you," She scribbled down his little episode and then began writing on a little pad.

"You can return to class if you like," leaving the option that he could stay here and rest but she already knew what the answer would be.

"I'll go back to class," he mumbled. She sighed and handed him the hall pass. She knew that emails would be coming to her more about him.

Sam took the pass without comment and picked up his backpack to leave. He struggled with the door again and then bolted out of there. He started hyperventilating once he was out of range from her office.

_Stupid idiot. You stupid idiot. That was too close. She could've called him!_

Sam took deep breaths to calm himself down. The one good thing came out that ordeal was that he'd gotten food at least. Everything was going to be okay if he kept his mouth shut.

_No one can know. What good would it do anyways? It would just hurt me when they turn their shoulders and leave._

He walked down the hallway with a feeling of despair with the thought of John finding out. He swayed to and fro. The food was good to him, hell it was a banquet compared to the scraps he was given and even then that was barely a possibility of happening, but it wasn't enough and his hunger was still going strong. His deliriousness had simmered down so that had to count for something.

He trudged onto his next class hoping that would take his mind off everything else. He silently hoped that Nurse Masters wasn't going to call his house anyways. He took a deep breath before opening the door. The second it opened the teacher stopped talking and the class aimed their attention at him. He stared at the floor and the whispers began again. He handed the pass to his teacher, Ms. Pamela Barnes, she looked concerned for a moment when she saw it was from the nurse.

"Everything alright Sam?" she asked.

The only reply she got was just a nod. Of course along with the other staff and the entire student body she saw the bruises. She wanted to ask but everyone was looking and Sam didn't need all that attention. She decided to talk with him privately while everyone was busy with the assignment later.

"Take your seat and take out the lab worksheets I handed out from Friday."

He sat down at a corner table in the back by himself. Garth and a handful of other students watched his every move. He decided at that moment that if Sam was in a bad place then he would definitely open up if he had a friend or in this case eight including himself. His attention went back to the teacher as she returned to the lecture.

Sam had studied the assignment and had it memorized since he had nothing better to do besides clean at the house. Today they were going to dissect either a frog or baby shark depending on what animal was chosen by the student. Their assignment was identifying the organs in the body correctly. Ms. Barnes was going through it step by step and had to repeat three times that students weren't allowed to steal the animal or keep it due to someone the previous year using it for a prank by stealing all the frog insides and putting them in a bucket and dumping it all over another student. The person who did so was never found which got Sam thinking about the incident during free period for some reason.

"Alright let's keep this even and in fashionable order so everyone in groups of two." She said and went to her desk while the class went off into pairs immediately choosing their friends or whoever they got along with.

Garth looked over at Sam who was lost in thought.

_Remember Garth no attack hugs no matter how much he needs it_

He told himself and walked over to Sam with his stuff in tow.

"Hey Sam!" he greeted and the poor freshman flinched in response to his sudden appearance, "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you. It's just well you don't have a partner and I thought we could be partners since I don't really know you." He gave a small smile.

Sam just merely stared and blinked. He gave small shrug as a response.

"Well since that's settled. I'll go get the stuff and such." He felt awkward and uncomfortable around Sam in those few seconds of silence. It was really unsettling actually but he put that aside for Dean. It wasn't like Dean was a liar or anything but he was hoping from the stories and rumors he heard about Sam that Dean was lying and above all this was just a huge understanding but deep down he knew he couldn't bring himself to believe in that pipe dream. He wandered up to the trays and supplies lying there with a look of confusion.

"I thought we were gonna dissect frogs or something."

Ms. Barnes just looked and sighed, "Well we were but an animal activist group was protesting that the frog population was falling because they were being "poached" for this sort of thing so a baby piggy will just have to do instead." She buttoned up her lab coat and began going around passing old assignments back.

"That's just sad," he remarked shaking his head. He took the tray and supplies and headed back to their desk. "So Sam instead of a frog we have to dissect Babe... I guess we know what happened after the movie huh?" He gave a chuckle and looked at him but was met with a quizzical look. His smile quickly faded. He cleared his throat and pushed the tray and instruments to Sam. "Wanna do the honors?" he asked.

Sam put on gloves and safety goggles because last time they dissected something he was squirted with juice and yeah he'd rather that not happen again. He took the scalpel and ran it across the poor piglet's belly cutting it open. The smell that spewed out made Garth gag a little. It smelled like sewage left in the grass after a flood. Sam's nose crinkled at the smell but unfortunately he smelled worse. Sometimes in the summer John thought it would be fun to leave out meat and food until it rotted and made him lie in it for hours, ants or no ants. Sam could never get the smell out of his clothing for days. He was fortunate it was during the summer and not during the school year because his life was already hard with no friends but he didn't need any sort of bullying from that to make it worse.

He pulled back the flaps of skin and began pulling out the organs in order and setting them next to the piglet on the tray. Garth wanted to make Sam smile at least once today and now that he thought of it, the poor kid never smiled. It was probably the most odd thing ever even when something funny occurred in class or when the teacher made a joke.

"It's a shame that this poor little piggy never got the chance to become pork chops or bacon." Another flat joke that completely flew over Sam's head. He looked up for a moment at Garth but nothing. No slight indication of a smile whatsoever not even a twitch and Sam went right back to work. Garth sighed and pulled out hid phone while Sam worked.

_To: Dean and Cas_

_Not much of a talker is he_

He put his phone away as Sam got finished with the first half of the assignment. He took his gloves off and waited for Garth to finish the rest.  
Garth's phone buzzed in his pocket, just as he was about to pull it out Ms. Barnes called to Sam over at her desk. Sam groaned internally. He just wanted to go through one class period without a teacher asking questions.

_From: Cas_

_No I believe that's what makes this whole situation problematic. He seems to be very antisocial and we need to gather some form of truth from him in order to help but that will  prove to be difficult with his silence._

_From Dean:_

_Dammit! a little warning at lunch before texting me! I have detention now thanks a lot guys! >:(_

Garth began chuckling. He should buy Dean a pie as an apology he thought.

_To: Dean and Cas_

_He keeps giving me these really long stares whenever I try to crack a joke. Its starting to creep me out. At least with you Cas you look like you're searching for an answer or something Sam just looks so empty :(_

He began poking and pulling the intestines out of the piggy with a groan. It kept making squishing noises as he did so making him gag a little again.

_From: Dean_

_Well keep trying Garth you and Charlie are the best hope we have at befriending the poor kid._

_From: Cas_

_I am aware of his gaze as it unsettles me as well but we must deal with it and in time maybe he may feel comfortable around us to let us see him smile._

Garth blinked in surprise at Cas's response.

_To: Dean and Cas_

_Well that's a first Cas but yeah guys I'll see what I can do and I'll try very hard not to hug him_

With that he left the matter alone and went back to the assignment. Sam however was waiting with Ms. Barnes. She seemed to be giving him assignments back before sighing and crossing her arms looking at Sam.

"So Sam. You've been in my class for a few months now and I couldn't help but notice the bruises constantly showing up on your face. Is there a reason as to why that is?" She spoke in a quiet tone not wanting the others to hear.

"I... I like to go out a lot and I just get hurt from that." Not a terrible excuse but not a great one either.

"Doesn't your dad worry about you at all?" she leaned forward a bit.

"Umm no," He answered but then warning bells began going off in his head.

_She's going to be suspicious! You shouldn't have said that! Make something else up! Quick! John will be mad he'll be so very mad!_

"No? Why not?" She leaned back and eyed him suspiciously. _That's not right. What parent wouldn't worry about their child?_

"Because! I mean, because he knows that I... like to go... on adventures. He says umm... that I have an overactive imagination. And that's why I keep getting hurt." He knew his lying was getting worse but that was all he could come up with for the moment.

"Uh huh..." She studied him for a moment, "Well be more careful other people will start to think other things might be happening to you. Like you might be getting bullied or beat up." She said the last part staring him in the eye.

"Yeah I'll try and keep that in mind." He turned and walked away.

She didn't believe him. Not for one moment. She had been to shelters as a volunteer and was able to tell all the signs of a person being beat up and right now Sam had some pretty big tells whether he knew it or not. She wrote down her suspicions from watching him so far and made a note to possibly contact the principle and have some sort of meeting with him and his father.

Unknowingly Garth heard everything. He shook his head and grew a little upset and was taking it out on the poor piglet on the tray. _Dammit. Why are you trying to hide this Sam? You can't just let him treat you like this. No one should!_

Sam sat on his chair finishing the assignment not saying a single word. He didn't need this. All the constant attention increasing more and more each day. They had no idea about his life and they weren't the ones that had to come home to rip roaring drunk John Winchester everyday. All this fuss over him was just going to hurt him in the end. He had learned that many times in middle school and elementary school. They would all leave it alone when John would get away with it AGAIN eventually and that would be for the best. Or so he thought.

When Garth was done he practically mutilated the poor piglet. He worked through his worksheets quickly so as to have the last remaining minutes of class talking to Sam or rather getting him to talk.

"So hey, um, Sam. I couldn't help but notice that you were sitting alone today at lunch or every day now that I think about it," he coughed hoping that Sam got the message that being alone wasn't necessarily a bad thing, "Anyways I wanted to know if you would like to sit with me and my friends tomorrow at lunch? If you want that is," He gave a small reassuring smile at him.

Sam looked at him strangely. It was like he was examining Garth from the inside out. Creepy.

"Why?" He asked.

"What?" Garth looked confused.

"Why do you want me to sit with you and your friends? We've been in the same class for almost a few months. Why now?" Sam looked a little frightened to say least. He was both a mix of frightened and suspicious.

"I just want be friends Sam. You're constantly alone all the time and I just thought that you'd need some friends is all. You can get to know my friends and I think you'll come to like them. They're all great in their own special way."

_No that's not it. He's up to something. Him and his so called "friends" are just going to hurt me. They always do._

"No offense but I don't wanna sit with you or your friends. I can do just fine on my own if you haven't noticed. I don't need anyone to babysit me." He replied bitterly. It came out harsher than he intended to be but that's how it had to be for him. He couldn't let anyone near him. They wouldn't understand anything. 

Garth was about to respond but the bell rang before he even got a chance. Sam got up immediately and left in a hurry to his next class. Garth gave a sigh.

_What was all that about?_ _Did I say something wrong?_

He pulled out his phone and got up.

_To: Dean and Cas_

_Yeah guys this is gonna be a lot harder than we originally thought. Tried to see if he wanted to eat with us at lunch tomorrow. No luck. He got upset for some reason. Also you were right. He does lie about the bruises a lot. But regardless I'll still help_

He put his phone away and headed out the door wondering about the poor freshman.

Sam walked into his Advanced Reading class and took his seat by the window. His teacher was a brown haired fellow. A man of average height wearing a navy blue suit and white collared shirt. He sat at his desk. Every student just called him by his first name even on their papers. His last name was too difficult to spell, pronounce or remember. He preferred to be called Inias anyways.

He nibbled on some carrot sticks and then noticed Sam sitting at his desk lost in his thoughts again. He considered asking him over because while in passing during free period there were more bruises yet again on his face. He was always worried about all his students well being but none more so than Sam. He knew what was going with him but he kept refusing help or telling the truth. He sighed and rubbed his face. There have been other students in similar situations in his class but they at least went to him with help. It was very frustrating for him. On the one hand he could call his father or on the other leave it alone. Usually in his case he could get Sam in more trouble and run the risk of making it worse for him. Those choices always gave him headaches from thinking over it for too long. He decided to wait until the end of class to ask Sam.

Sam was starting to daze again. His stomach was growling for more food. Come to think of it he was thirsty too. He sat there waiting as the class filled up slowly. Today they were going read some more of Shakespeare's Othello. Joy. Despite the class being advanced most of the class had difficulty in reading anything Shakespeare, well actually they had a problem reading it like it was some form of foreign language. Most of them stuttered through it and usually every sentence wound up ending in the form of a question especially in Hamlet ( We are...oft? to blame in this... tis too much... proved? that with devotion's... v-visage... and pious action we do sugar... o'er? "wait... what did I just read?"). It drove Sam mad and Inias, he usually tended to skip them if the reading proved to be difficult even for them to pronounce.

When the bell rang and the class was all settled in Inias took to the front podium and took roll. Idle chatter set about the classroom.

"Alright everyone settle down. Today we're not going to continue Othello-"

"Oh thank god!" Sam blurted out and everyone turned to look at him, some with smiles on their faces, "I mean I'm just so tired today I don't think I have any energy to read is all." He explained lamely. A couple students began snickering and others laughed.

"Yes well just get some more rest when school is over then. Now as I was saying, no Othello today I know you all are heartbroken about it." He said looking at Sam. More laughter came from that, "Today we're going to the computer lab to look at other readings regarding Shakespeare's influence on the world."

The class groaned in response. Of course they were never gonna escape Shakespeare. "I know. I know. My heart bleeds for you all but today will just be smooth sailing to get you through this long day. Now grab your stuff we're in room one hundred and twelve."

The class griped and complained. They were all done to death by Shakespeare. Sam was the last one out of the room hoping that it would help keep anyone from staring at him. He kept his head down and avoided eye contact yet again. If he was acknowledged by anyone he pretended that he didn't hear them. Sam kept it that way and when everyone was in the lab picking seats he made sure to have a computer that faced away from anyone and sat by himself.

Another thing that worried Inias. Sam never bothered to try and make friends even on the first day of class. Everyone just thought he was a quiet little achiever but Inias knew better. He shut people out and never let anyone in. That was what alarmed him in the first place. That behavior wasn't normal not even in teenagers unless there was something really wrong. He brought it up the principle but he ignored it simply because it was only just the first day of school. He was gonna have to make some more calls to Nurse Masters though by now he thought that maybe she thought he was being a little paranoid, but hey you can never be too careful.

He wrote the names of the websites on the board and let the class go crazy (as much as anyone could go crazy about Shakespeare). He began writing notes on Sam's behavior recommending that he go see the school's counselor. He tapped his pencil thinking what else to write. He noticed that he hardly looked anyone in the eye, even when speaking and wrote that down. He noted the amounts of bruises compared to last weeks. He sighed. He shouldn't be having to do this regarding a student. It was just wrong. Another day would pass and they would fade only for poor Sam to come back the next with more in various areas or in the same.

Sam focused on his work. _Maybe today he won't ask. I hope he doesn't ask._

He went through each reading quickly finishing his work earlier than the rest. Sometimes he'd hear the whispers again regarding him. Another student said it was for attention. He fought the urged to scoff. _Yeah because I just love coming to school hungry, bruised and weak! I want food. He won't feed me today probably. Why won't he feed me? What did I ever do to him to... to deserve this?!_

He was starting to get teary eyed again from his thoughts. He shook his head and wiped away a tear that nearly fell. _Whatever. Let them think what they want. I'll only be here for three more years or less then I can get away from everyone. Away from him._

That was how he got through everyday. With that small hope and determination to leave and not have to come back. He was going to be gone and away and not live in fear anymore. He was going to be happy and normal like everyone else. He stiffened and sent his work to the teacher through the school website. The time had slipped away and he was now looking at the fact that it was twenty minutes left of school. He groaned. He was going to have to go home and do all those chores for the day. He probably won't see any food for it either. But he was glad at the fact that John wouldn't be home for a couple of hours so that was something to look forward to. At least that's what he thought...

Inias wrote more to the school nurse and she actually replied this time that she has been receiving mail lately from his other teachers that were just as troubled as him. That was definitely good news to him. Now they could finally get somewhere and actually do something about it. He asked for what the other teachers reported and he received a response that they should all meet to discuss Sam along with setting up a meeting with the counselor for Sam and the principle. He gave sigh of relief at that thought. He clung to the hope that they were finally going to save this troubled student.

The bell rang and the students cheered and got up out of their seats thankful that the day was over. However not for Sam.

"Sam could you come here a moment? I have something to ask you." He smiled.

Sam sighed, of course he couldn't go a class period without being asked questions.

"Yes sir?" he looked at the ground as he spoke, forgetting that he nearly cried and his eyes and the tip of his nose was red.

Another alarm set off. "Is everything alright Sam?"

Sam coughed, "Yeah everything is fine." He replied his voice sounding hollow and void.

"I am sure by now that you know I'm going to ask about those bruises again."

"It's fine sir. Nothing's wrong sir. I just fell while riding a scooter. It's nothing to worry over."

Inias rubbed his eye. Of course to him it's nothing to worry over. "Sam I want you to tell me the truth. Look at me."

Sam grudgingly looked up at his teacher, his eyes a little misty. "Is everything alright at home? Does your father hurt you in any way?"

Sam clenched his fist, "No nothing is wrong. He doesn't hurt me! There is nothing going on at home! Why don't you all believe me?! Why can't you just leave me alone?! I just want to be left alone!" By the end he was yelling.

Inias swallowed before replying, "I'm just worried and so are your other teachers."

Sam huffed and rolled his eyes. "Well stop worrying and just leave it alone!"

Inias looked at him, "It?"

Sam's face paled. He just gave something away. _Shit! Not good. Not good. Look at what you did! Now they're really gonna call John now._

"I have to go. I'm gonna miss my bus." And with that he scurried away.

"Sam! Wait!" but he was already gone. Inias let out breath and put his face in hands. They definitely had to help Sam.

Sam scurried all the way for his bus ignoring everyone. _Just keep moving. Just keep moving. What was I thinking talking to him? He can never leave things alone._

He coughed and took harsh breaths it was a small distance from the computer lab to the buses but he couldn't even make that distance easily.

He got on and sat in the front and leaned back on the seat closing his eyes trying to get rid of the tension that the day left. As the bus started to leave he began going over the list of chores he had to complete in his head over and over again.

Back at the house John Winchester sat the table with a bottle of hard liquor clenching his fists with a harsh look on his face. He looked at the clock knowing that the bus was already on its way. He silently waited in anger at his sad excuse of a son he had. All the kid had to do was tell the teachers what happened to him was an accident but he couldn't even do that right. Useless. Well he was going to make sure he remembered one way or another he thought as he looked at the now empty bottle and held it from one end and hitting it slightly on the table testing its durability. He was starting to see red and all this waiting was now making him more angrier than he had been. Not even fifteen minutes later he heard the footsteps walking up to the house and the jangling of the keys going in the lock. The door opened and footsteps were heard in the house. John face contorted into a wicked smile. _The boy is here..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes a cliff hanger and yes I know I'm evil muahahahahaha! >:D


	6. Face Down

 

Sam was somewhat thankful for school being over as he sat on the bus. It seemed that everyone was prying into his life and all of it was unwelcome. People were asking questions again about the bruises which was something that he was used to but as of lately they've been doing so more frequently. It made him both edgy and stressed out at the same time. He knew he needed to come up with better excuses or maybe stick to the same story but he could never seem to remember what was the first story he told let alone what John told him to say. With the way others were prying into his life unwarranted it would only cease to be a matter of time before the truth got out. He wanted to delay that as much as possible. Besides if it got out and John was put away where would he go? How would he live? This life was all he knew and as strange as it was to think, he needed John and wouldn't know how to cope once he was gone. Granted he had a few years left until college but he'd figure he'd have a plan for when that day came, well if John let him leave.

Sam froze as the thought crossed his mind.

_What if he won't let me leave? What if I'm stuck here forever? What's going to happen to me? Will anyone even know or care?_

Sam's breathing had become rapid in that instant, while his heart rate sped up and he began to shake and tremble all over. His eyes grew misty at the thought of enduring more torture at the hands of his father. His mind grew hazy for a few moments and then suddenly felt the urge to run or flee in any direction.

_No! I have to go! I have to get out! NO! NO! NO! NO! I NEED TO LEAVE!!_

No one seemed to notice Sam having some sort breakdown on the bus as it went on. All the students were busy chattering on and on about their daily activities while Sam's rapid breathing turned into hyperventilation. Tears were streaming down his cheeks as he gripped on the seat of the bus trying to will himself into calming down but everything he thought of only made him panic even more. The bus soon slowed and stopped as it hit it's first drop off point and the second the doors opened Sam grabbed his bag and ran out the door as quickly as possible. He ran as far as he could with tears still streaming down his face which unfortunately was just a three houses down before he bent down to rest. As his breathing turned to normal he busied himself by wiping his face and focusing on his home chores trying to get a grip on what just happened.

_What was that? Where did that come from?_

He wondered but shook the thought away. He needed to get home quickly and do his chores then homework before John got home. It was just about to be three o' clock so he figured he had two and a half hours to do laundry and clean parts of the house. He walked for ten minutes until he came up to his home, trekking up the the steps and pulling out the keys to unlock the door. Once he was inside he could tell that something was wrong. There was the familiar stench of whiskey in the air but also a presence. A presence that made him so uneasy and tense that he grew too afraid to take anymore steps deeper in the house. He thought about turning around and running away but he knew he wouldn't get past the house without growing weak despite having eaten. All he could do was stand there hoping that whatever caused the disturbance and staleness in the air would go away. Despite his instincts screaming at him that something was wrong he had to walk forward knowing that there were chores to be done. He made his way past the stairs and into the kitchen and dining area and stopped dead in his tracks as his whole mouth went dry.

There standing right next to the table was John Winchester holding a glass bottle. His left fist was clenched and his face was dark, carrying a look of pure hatred. By the way he was swaying he already guessed the man was half drunk. His denim sleeves were rolled up and his breathing was heavy. Sam looked down and felt nothing but fear crawling down his spine. His heart rate began speeding up and he began wondering what the man was doing home so early.

_He shouldn't be here. Why would he be- no. NO!_

Sam's eyes grew watery while his face paled as he remembered that Nurse Masters wanted to call John and ask some concerning questions about him. But his other teachers had wanted to call his home and inquire about him too. Only two teachers he knew would have actually called John about the whole matter and it was either Crowley or Inias. He inwardly cursed them as the silence grew to unbearable levels and the tension in the air reached unimaginable heights.

John strode slowly toward Sam with his rage just barely hanging by a thread. Each step seemed to echo throughout the house, bouncing off the walls as the silence wore on. Sam tried so hard not to flinch as he did so and fought the urge to look up at John when he stopped in front of him. He could feel John's silent fury, cold eyes, and deadpan stare all at once aimed toward him.

"I thought I told you to tell them that nothing was wrong and you ran into a door," He seethed and almost began seeing red.

Sam swallowed and kept looking down at the floor blinking away tears rapidly. His body tensed waiting for the inevitable hits that he knew was going to come. He began to shake and tremble from the fear and stress.

_Please. Just hit me already. Please!_

"Those were the orders I gave you. Now one of your teachers called me asking me some strange questions. Asked if everything was alright at home and if there were any problems we were going through. Even going so far as to asking how I deal with any sort of anger. Do you have anything to say for yourself?!"

Sam didn't dare look up. He remained quiet, unsure if he was even allowed to answer the question. A tear finally broke free and rolled down his cheek as he trembled.

"Answer me boy," He spat. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Sam timidly opened his mouth at the question, finally given permission, "I-"

Whatever he was about to say was cut off by John smashing the empty liquor bottle on his head. Sam crumbled down to the floor instantly and lay there motionless as his vision swam and he saw spots.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid, ungrateful, pathetic excuse for a son you are. You little piece of shit! What did you tell your teacher Crowley?! That I hit you?! That I threw you down the stairs?! That I starve you?!" He raged on while Sam closed his eyes and wanted to scream at his teacher for putting his nose in business that was nobody's but his.

He grabbed Sam and hoisted him up by the shoulders and threw him against the wall. Sam's back hit the wall a little too hard which was evident as he toppled to the floor and went in a coughing fit. His eyes burned as he gripped the floor. His sides were beginning to hurt while his back throbbed with pain. Sam tried to push himself off the ground but it grew pointless as John picked him up and pushed him against the wall. He brought his fist up and threw a punch at Sam's right cheek and then repeated the action again and again and again. The fifth time Sam's lip had been split and his nose began bleeding as he brought a harsh blow to it.

He wrapped a hand to his neck and lifted him off the ground leaving his feet dangling. All Sam could do was gasp and struggle against him, fighting for oxygen to get in his lungs.

"I tell you one goddamned thing and you can't even do that. You can't do anything right can you?! What the hell good are you anyways? You little fucking useless piece of shit. You no good, worthless, abomination!" He roared on and on.

He threw Sam to the other side of the hallway and sent him crashing through a table. Sam let out a yelp as he felt a twist in his ankle and something in his shoulder pop. The pain in his ankle throbbed and he knew instantly that he was going to have a limp of some sort. He coughed up some blood and tried scrambling to get up but his right arm refused to cooperate, just barely moving a little and he began to worry what damaged had been done to it. He felt his ankle give a burning sensation when he put a little weight on it. Tears were now free falling on his face as he began moaning in pain along with his breathing coming in with little gasps. He heard heavy boots go in the kitchen and hoped they would stay there. The sound of a drawer opening and slamming made him flinch as he knew what he was going to do.

He screaming on the inside when John grabbed his arm and rolled up the sleeve of his jacket. He ordered for his arm to move or struggle away from John's grip but it only remained limp and made little to no movement. John lay the knife he grabbed on Sam's skin and began cutting. Sam couldn't help the scream that was punched out of him when it dragged across his skin. He screamed even more and kicked his legs at the unbearable pain. When he tried to use his other arm to try and push John away he was met with the backhand of John to his face causing more blood to fall.

John was carving words into his skin instead of just cutting lines like he usually did.

"STOP SCREAMING!" He roared and punched Sam in the stomach and went back to carving. By the time he was done the word "Unlovable" was carved along Sam's arm in giant letters, "There now that will remind you of what you are!" John got up and wiped the knife clean of his blood. Sam lay on the floor whimpering and crying, cradling his arm close to his chest.

"If your teacher thinks you're starving now, then he's got another thing coming. No food for the rest of the week," he sneered and walked off as the house phone began to ring. After ten minutes he was back and threw a dish towel to Sam, "Clean yourself up and do your chores!" He barked and walked to the garage. Soon the garage door was heard opening and the truck started. He was going back to his shop to work on a customer's car leaving Sam lying on the floor, forgotten, hurt, and traumatized.

Sam lay there for few more minutes, curled up with his hair covering his eyes sucking harsh breaths. Using his left arm he tried to push himself off the ground. His right arm still refused to cooperate as he tried making it move but to no avail. The only movement it made was small twitches. As he sat up he took a gaze at his leg and took of his shoes. His left ankle was already becoming swollen and shifted all his weight to his right side. With a small push he was standing and leaning against the wall. His left arm was still bleeding as leaned with his back against the wall. Across from him on the wall was mirror facing him and he couldn't stand looking at himself at the pitiful sight he made.

His nose stopped bleeding, his lip was puffy and split while his right eye was black. The right side of his face was now a deep purple. His hair was matted and messier than before. There were tear streaks on his face with his left eye and the tip of his nose was red from crying. He slowly made his way to the kitchen and grabbed the broom and dust pan. He bit down a sob as he forgot about the broken glass shards from the bottle and looked down to see that he was standing in the middle of it. He got away from the mess and began picking bits out from his foot. Blood was already seeping through from the puncture wounds. He grabbed the nearest rag and wrapped it around his foot. He limped to the mess and began sweeping up the mess up and put it in the trash.

_How am I supposed to hide this now? Surely everyone will figure it out in a matter of time..._

He struggled as he tried lifting the basket of laundry so rather he ended up dragging it to the laundry room. His crying had been reduced from small whimpers to sniffles. By the time he was done and started on the dishes his right arm had regained some feeling in it but there was hardly any strength in it. His ankle stung and throbbed with each step. He washed the dishes one at a time so as to not get any blood on the dishes or in the water. He had to keep blinking away tears constantly as he looked at the word "unlovable" knowing that once it was scarred it would stay there for a long while. It mocked him every time he read it reminding him he was unlovable but what he didn't know was why. He was a good kid. He obeyed every order and got great grades so what made him so unlovable? He sighed accepting that he would never know the answer to that question.

By the time John returned in was six thirty in the evening. There was barely any sunlight showing through the windows and Sam was already trying to prep dinner. John walked up the stairs but Sam just kept on trying to make his right arm work properly. John must have damaged the nerve or ligament to cause this awful response. Sam was trying to make spaghetti but there was only so much he could do with one arm. John spent half an hour upstairs unknowingly in Sam's room grabbing the cot, newspapers, and ratty old blanket. The noise of the attic stairs being pulled down was heard as were the creaking of the steps.

Ten minutes later while Sam was stirring the pot he was grabbed by his right arm away from the food and another pop was heard. Sam cried out in pain as he felt his arm go numb and back to its unresponsive state. John moved his hand away from his arm and grabbed him by the hair instead. Sam struggled to get Johns hand out of his hair but it was no use, he was too weak. He grew fearful that they were not heading to his room but to the attic instead. It was small, cramped, and dimly lit. Cobwebs were hanging from the banisters and wooden beams over head. There next to the window did Sam see the cot and everything that went with it and all his other stuff.

"Your gonna stay in here now," he growled. "If I see you downstairs when you're not supposed to be I'll move you to the basement. If I get another call from one of your teachers you'll be moved to the doghouse in the back while he gets your room. Do I make myself clear?"

Sam sniffled and nodded. John threw him to the ground and walked back down, pushing the ladder up and sealing Sam in his new room. He let out some more sobs and his body began trembling as he cried. He didn't know how much longer of this he could take. He told himself a few more years, but could he even make it? He didn't think so or even believe it anymore. Perhaps death would be a much more better offer but no, that would mean that John won the whole battle and Sam would be damned if he let that happen. From that moment on Sam made his decision. His decision to survive and find out what it would be like to be happy.

He worked on his homework and began to think since now that was all he could do until he was called upon. 

_Food. What will I do without food?_

He remember from his biology class people could last up to forty five days without food but at that there was some great caution that disease would get to people before they actually starved to death. He could do without some food, but water that was something he could go without. At most a person could last a week before submitting to dehydration. He had already gone three days without food thanks to that little soda incident on Friday but he remembered that today he had a small meal in the nurse's office. Maybe he could find a way to get food. He knew he was skinny already from the days he barely ate so he figured he had to find a way to get money. So at the moment keeping himself hydrated was the most important aspect. 

He needed to also find a way to stay out of John's wrath. So he figured that he needed to keep working and keep to himself in and out of the house. Which meant not breaking any rules no matter how strong the urge was whenever John wasn't around. It just wasn't worth it to starve. He thought of ways to get food which was either by stealing food from stores or unfortunately eat food straight from the garbage here and from school. There was also the option of going through dumpsters behind nearby restaurants. He would never ask anyone else for food. He would never lower himself to begging. With begging came the thought of people finding out about his home life and drawing people's attention to him. He needed to avert attention from himself as long as possible.

He was deep in thought with strategies on how to stay alive until he heard the ladder to the attic come undone. John walked up and called him down so he could do the dishes. He hobbled and limped his way down not meeting John's eyes until he directed so. He felt his father glaring at him as he trudged on and smelled whiskey surrounding him. When he made it to to the top of the stairs that's when it happened. John grabbed him by his left arm and threw him down the stairs. Sam tumbled around for a bit until he hit the wall where it turned into the hallway and with a sharp cry as he lay there stunned yet again.

_Why is he doing this to me? Was earlier not enough for him?_

John's boots thumped down slowly after Sam. He wasn't saying a word as he grabbed him and held poor Sam against the wall. He tilted his head for a moment and was assessing the damage he had done. As soon as Sam thought he was going to be left alone a punch made his way to his stomach and he crumpled instantly laying on his side. He picked Sam up again only to kick him in the shins with his steel toed boots. They were going to bruise horribly through the night. Sam would be lucky if he managed to walk without feeling any sort of pain at all. After that John walked off and headed out the door with keys in hand to the bar to drink more and acted as though nothing even happened.

The only thing Sam heard was a muttered, "stupid, pathetic, ungrateful little shit."

Sam pushed himself up and shook his head, "Jesus Christ."

His sides felt constricted and spat out blood. He gasped as he sat there against the wall at the foot of the stairs. The fight for his survival was truly going to start now.

Unbeknownst to Sam on another side of town Dean was strategically planning with Cas while Mary Winchester looked out of her window and was wondering if her little baby boy was doing alright. She could feel that something was wrong but didn't know what.

At the same time a boy at another house with pure mischief in his eyes was thinking the day over especially the incident in the library and especially about the boy in the brown jacket that caught his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry *hands you a bandaid for your heart*


	7. Enter Stage Right, Gabriel!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel! At last!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every time I try to work on this something happens! Anyways I was moving constantly to different houses so wifi has been hard to come by but my health has improved greatly and I finally landed a job so here you go an extremely long chapter I agonized over for you! :D

It was five thirty in the morning and Sam had woken up in the small attic. The pain from the night before came rushing back at him in one foul swoop. He winced as he tried getting up in the slowest manner. His arm was numb but through the course of the night it had regained feeling and responsiveness. Sitting on the cot he swallowed and pushed himself off and let out a pained yelp. John sprained his ankle last night too, with no ice or anything to relieve the pain it was going to be hard to walk. He tried standing again and kept all his weight on his right foot so the pain had dulled to a small ache. He slowly put a foot forward and moved to find that of course he was left with a limp of some sort. He sat back down.

_How am I going to hide and explain this now?_

Beginning to feel overwhelmed, tears spilled down his cheeks and onto the floor. So many things ran through his mind at the moment. He looked at his right arm, the word _unlovable_ was mocking him yet again. Sam grit his teeth as his eyes watered more and more. He looked out the small window and saw the sun starting to peek up through the horizon. He sighed and froze thinking about the looks and stares from all the other students he was going to get. And the teachers.. what would they say? What would they do?

_They could call John again!_

That startled him out of his pondering. He struggled to stand up again and felt the pain in his left ankle throb intensely. He merely grit his teeth at it and forced more weight on his ankle until he was standing fully. He took a step and forced down the scream that almost came out. He kept doing it until he became used to the pain and forced himself to walk in a circle. He wiped his eyes and nose with his left arm. His right arm gave small twitches every now and then but he kept more focus on his task at hand. His walking still had a small limp but it was well enough to the point where no one would notice, well at least that was what Sam figured. He went to his little cot and sat there proud of that little achievement. His smile soon faded when he looked at his right arm and willed it to move but he was only able to lift it seven inches before it got shaky and fell back to his side. He tried and tried again but it only made it more strained and he stopped trying before it could get to the point where he couldn't lift it at all.

_How am I supposed to write notes? It's never been this damaged before._

He sat there for fifteen minutes thinking but he came up with nothing. Today didn't seem like a good day to learn how to start writing with his left arm. He clearly wasn't ambidextrous so that option was out. He looked at his mp3 player for answers. He always could record the lectures on it but then figured he didn't have enough memory for all his classes. His other option was to ask classmates for notes on them. Problem with that is he always avoided talking with them in the first place. Talking to them would only get him in worse trouble than he already was plus what would he even say? "Hey can I borrow your notes? I couldn't write them down because my arm is possibly broken or it doesn't work."

_Yeah, that's definitely not going to raise any flags at all._

He thought bitterly at that. He had not many options left though.

_I could skip class..._

That thought went away as soon as it came. If he skipped class then he'd miss a lot in his studies plus the school would just end up calling home. So he was left with the only option of just sitting there and committing every bit and piece of information to memory. It was a crappy decision he knew, but he'd rather do that than any of the others. The clock read six fifteen in the morning. What to tell the teachers though? Instead of going with his hiking story or any other variation of it he simply decided that he just went to the wrong side of town and got beat up. It seemed to hold some merit and if anything people would think his attackers would most likely be Gordon and his gang of brutes since that was what they were known for.

He froze as he heard footsteps come to an abrupt stop and then the ladder for the attic was pulled down. Stomping his way up the steps was John with his hair matted up and harsh gaze. Sam kept his eyes glued to the floor waiting for a command to be given.

"Go get ready for school," he ground out and Sam got up wordlessly making his way out of the attic hoping that his limp wasn't noticed. Either it worked or John was too hungover to notice any small details. Today John didn't have to go in to work until three so most likely he was going to spend most of the day passed out and hungover or getting more drunk. Sam hadn't notice the pain that spiked through his feet from stepping on shards of broken glass before but now it was coming and going with each step. He hurried as much as he could and got ready for school with the clock reading six forty. He heard John pour himself a bowl of cereal while Sam went and stood in the kitchen corner looking down and his hands at his sides. If there was one thing he was thankful for was that he didn't have to make breakfast. He didn't think he could take another morning of having the scent of sausage and bacon go through his nostrils and not be able to eat it. There also was the matter of how uncooperative his right arm was being for now he was just going to have to settle for it hanging uselessly at his side for the time being.

The clock read fifty five and John was done with his small breakfast. He barely made any motion to Sam to grant him any permission to move. Sam stood there shaking as his left foot was beginning to throb again, it's limit being pushed the longer he stood there with all his weight. John just waved his hand at him and Sam went to retrieve his backpack then got into the car. On the way to school he Sam silently hoped that his teachers wouldn't bug him today, Crowley being his biggest concern but that also made him think of Inias and he groaned inwardly at that. He just repeated over and over on his head that he was beaten up.

 

 

Kevin, Garth, Charlie, Jo, Ash, and Benny were all standing by Dean's usual parking spot waiting for him to show up. Each one of them wondering what their day would bring on trying to attempt to befriend Sam. Jo and Ash gave each other looks and talked a little bit the night before at the Roadhouse. Ash patted Jo's shoulder and gave her a small smile as she looked at him with a small frown. John had come into the Roadhouse and she remembered John's bloodshot eyes coupled with rage. The thought of Sam having to come home to that and having to endure it made her sick to her stomach. Ash remembered when John got into a fight with another guy and how he kept taking every single person out that tried to beat the crap out of him. The guy was practically unstoppable so now he was fearing for Sam's life. The only way they got John to leave was by getting Ellen and she pulled out a shot gun aimed the barrel to his chest. He shook his head hoping that they could do at least something for Sam.

After waiting ten minutes Castiel walked to their group. Before he could say hi the tell tale rumble of Dean's Impala was heard at the corner. They all stood and watched as he drove in the parking lot and into his spot. He opened the door and climbed out of his car with a look of confusion plastered on his face.

"Hello Dean," Cas greeted.

"Hey Cas. Everyone," He nodded at them.

"Something seems to be troubling you. Are you alright?" Cas looked genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, somewhat. My mom is acting weird. She keeps staring out the front window, and her bedroom window at nothing. You guy's have seen that necklace she wears right? The one with the little white diamond orbs on it?"

"Yeah," They all collectively answered.

"Well she keeps grabbing the last little orb and keeps spinning it around between her fingers. It kinda freaking me out," Dean scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Maybe she just has a lot of work related things on her mind?" Charlie piped up.

"Yeah, I guess so. Anyways what are you guys doing here by my spot?" Dean grabbed his bag.

"Well we wanted to talk about Sam kinda," Kevin fidgeted.

"Alright, what of?"

"Well, we're just wondering how we're gonna get him to sit with us? He doesn't seem very sociable. I don't think he is at all," Kevin was nervous about the whole thing. Meeting people was just not his thing so to speak.

"Same as yesterday. Charlie will try to talk to him and invite him to our table. No one seems to have any problem with her and when he does we'll just roll out the welcome wagon. I hope the kid gives it a... chance." Dean's voice faded away when he saw the familiar blue truck pull up.

 

 

John pulled into the student pick up zone and the truck came to an abrupt stop. Sam sat in his seat looking down waiting for John to give him a ready excuse for the day, only he hoped to remember it fully this time. His stomach grumbles and he shut his eyes. He reminded himself he was going to have to think of a way to get food into his system. He started shaking at the unbearable silence that filled the air.

"Tell your teacher's that you fell down from the mountain trail. If I even get one phone call from one your teachers today you're sleeping outside from now on! Do you understand boy?" He spat.

"Yes sir. I understand perfectly." Sam said with his voice hollow.

"Good. Now get out! And fix that damn limp while you're at it!" John turned away from him.

Of course he had noticed his limp, how could he not? Sam opened the door and got out carefully. While getting out he looked at himself in the passenger window and immediately froze. He had a black eye on the left side of his face, his lip was puffy, and there was a horrible scab from where it had been split. He didn't notice how pale he had gotten. He was practically as white as a ghost. He shut the door and stood up straight and avoided eye contact with everyone.

 

Everyone looked in the direction that Dean was staring at. Jo gasped and Charlie looked at Sam with panic her eyes. Cas looked away from Sam with slight redness in his eyes.

"Oh my god," Garth breathed out.

"Holy shit..." Benny looked shocked to say the least.

From Kevin all that came out were harsh breaths and had they looked at him they would have seen him covering his mouth as if he were about to vomit.

Dean clenched his hands into fists as he looked on in despair at poor Sam. "Dammit! If we don't do something soon Sam's gonna wind up dead."

"I agree. Sam does not deserve this kind of treatment nor does anyone else. If I could trade places with him..." Cas left the thought unfinished but they all understood perfectly. "Should we go to him now?"

"No." Everyone turned to look at Garth, shocked at his disagreement.

"I'm not say 'no, not at all' I'm saying not now."

"But Gart-" Charlie looked at him sadly.

"Guys look at him. He scared and frail. Besides for all we know having to live like this for a long time is bound to give him paranoia. And who knows? That paranoia could be right. Maybe his dad keeps tabs on him all day or is maybe having someone keep tabs on him. So we should wait until lunch time so that way the little guy will be at an easier state to deal with people." Garth shook his head not liking the idea himself.

Everyone was deep in thought.

"You guys can't seriously be thinking this. Dean? Kevin? Ash?" Jo looked at her peers nervously.

"I hate to say it Jo, but Garth is right. The poor kid is all shook up." Dean looked on at Sam with worry etched on his face.

"Maybe my mom can get him out of his shell. Sam seems a little bit more relaxed with her around and she pretty much gets defensive over him when it comes to people trying to bully him. Maybe she can get through to him." Kevin couldn't help but think it attributed to her motherly instincts and then it hit him. "Guys, does Sam have a mom?"

Everyone looked around yet again for answers when Castiel offered his voice on the subject. "Whenever I see Samuel get dropped off I never do see some mother figure around him nor any female figure around him."

"Great he has a drunk angry dad and an absent mom. Poor kid has to have all the bad luck in the world doesn't he?" Ash let out a harsh breath before putting his hands above his head.

"Maybe she died and his dad couldn't recover from the loss?" Charlie piped up.

"Maybe she just left the poor tyke?" Benny scratched the side of his face then adjusted his cap.

"Not important if she left him or not, the point is we have to get him away from his dad." Dean folded his arms and nodded.

Everyone quickly agreed and with that the bell rang making the group disperse toward their morning classes.

 

 

Sam bit his lip to keep from shouting at the pain in his ankle. It felt so stiff yet it stung whenever the slightest bit of pressure was put down on it. His eyes watered as he stood up and forced himself to trudge on.

_Only eight more hours left of this._

He walked/limped as fast as he could to Crowley's class before stopping to realize what his teacher might ask of all this. He figured he'd just tell him that he got mugged at least that is if he could remember that excuse. He stared at the ground as he hobbled in, aware of the fact that everyone was watching him. He could feel all those eyes on him and he definitely heard the whispering of the rumors.

 

"Look at him. He's still dragging it out."

"I don't think he's pretending at all."

"He has more bruises than he did yesterday!"

"Why is he walking funny?"

"Does he ever eat? He looks like a bag of bones."

"I think I heard someone say he was hit by a truck."

"Someone thinks his dad is doing this to him."

"That can't be true! Parents would never do that to their own kid!"

Sam kept his head low and refused to look at anyone. He felt all of their eyes staring holes through their head. Crowley hadn't come in yet because of a teacher's meeting. Sam was thankful that knowing he would just get moving right along and hopefully not call any attention to or maybe not notice him. Castiel gave a sad sigh. He knew they had to wait but for how long? Each day seemed like it was draining Sam, and he was coming to school looking worse than before. How long would it take before Sam would one day stop showing up only to see him on the news dead from what would appear to the world as an accident? Knowing full well that John Winchester would be the cause.

Just then Crowley walked in apologizing to the class about being late and started taking roll of who was there. The students talked among themselves and were bracing themselves for another boring lecture of grammar today. When he reached Sam's name he looked at the poor young student and made more notes about the bruises that appeared this time. He shouldn't have to be doing this for Sam or any student for that matter it was just too much. He made a decision to talk to Sam after class or during their free period.

This time it flew by with barley anyone taking notice. Sam just stayed quiet and barely made a single sound, hiding behind his hair. They didn't have to partner up this time and he was thankful for that. Talking would've been hard since he hadn't eaten at all the night before or in the morning so he was starting to see spots and other things.

_"Food... right... I have to make a plan to get food."_

Throughout the period he fought to stay awake and kept his hurt arm resting on the desk though he barley moved it because of the slight twinge of pain he felt. Crowley collected the papers that he had the class do on a video they watched. He looked up as the bell rang and the class dispersed but somehow Sam managed to get past him without him noticing. He cursed inwardly and began to ponder how get the frail student to open up to him. He sighed and began setting up for his next class.

Sam was trying to hurry as fast as possible to his next class but he still needed to lean on the wall and catch his breath. He could only go so far... He flinched when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Castiel looking at him sympathetically.

"Samuel... may I speak with you?"

"I n-need to get t-to class," Sam blinked and turned limping away and other students were looking at him again suspiciously.

"Sam please!" He yelled but it was no use. Sam blended in with the crowd of students flocking to their classes. "Damn it," He growled in frustration.

Sam trudged onward ignoring Cas's yelling.

_What could he do? Make things better? He just one person... no one can help me._

Next he had to deal with Kevin and his mother but he knew full well that she would ask immediately. He waited until most of the class was filled before going in and everyone just kept on with their idle chatter but Kevin looked straight at him and felt something in his stomach twist. Sam had gotten a little pale and was sweating a little not to mention he looked more strained than usual.

Sam sat down in his seat and was panting a little bit. He needed food as well as a doctor to look at his arm, it was beginning to ache and his ankle was throbbing with pain again. He refused to show it though and kept his focus on the ground yet again.

Ms. Tran walked around and handed papers out to the class of old assignments along with some new ones. She walked up to Sam and noticed his state and looked a little worried.

"Sam are you okay? Are you feeling well?"

Sam paused for a minute before answering, "Yeah, I'm just tired. It's nothing to worry about," he gave a small smile to reassure her.

She eyed him suspiciously before giving him his work back. When she was done she looked again at him and noticed he was shaking, trembling even. She quickly wrote down some notes for the school nurse again and began considering having her son talk with him or get him to open up about what really was going on. She could tell a lie from the truth in an instant.

Throughout the hour she kept an eye on him and even had Kevin pair up with him again. He tried making small talk about trivial things like the assignments, the weather, or the school life and Sam would just nod and agree or shrug. Kevin noticed that Sam was barely using his right arm and every now and then it would make the smallest uncontrollable twitches. Sam bit the inside of his cheek whenever that happened due to the pain it was in and he barely thought about his other arm. When he did think about his other arm he was reminded of John pinning him down while carving that word into his skin. That word that made him wonder what he did wrong to deserve that.

He just wanted today to be over already but then again maybe not just so he wouldn't have to go to his house without food or wait for another beating. He sighed and kept his head hung low and avoided any and all attention. Kevin though was for some reason trying to get him to talk. Sam sat there silently wishing the other boy would shut up and stop to see that no, he didn't want him as a friend and he never would. Having a friend would only get him into more trouble, besides the way Kevin's life was turning out so well he wouldn't understand a single fraction of what was going on. So he just nodded and shrugged to whatever he said.

Kevin was beginning to get uncomfortable in the fact that perhaps he was trying too hard or seemed like maybe he was trying to pry into his life. He just wanted to make sure Sam understood that he didn't have to go it alone and that if he ever needed someone he was there but Sam just didn't seem like he wanted help from him or anyone. Kevin let out a harsh breath, Sam was gonna be a hard egg to crack but one day they'd get there.

The bell rang and everyone got up to leave and Sam left in haste leaving Kevin to wonder what he was hiding and sent out a quick text to Cas.

_To: Castiel_

_He's all yours Cas but I don't think you'll get much out of him he's practically gone mute also try to see if there's new marks he barely moved his arm and I think he's got a limp :(_

After that he went to his mom and told her odd he was being and the possibility of his recent injuries. She gave her son a nod and wrote a quick email to the nurse of the recent events and behavior. After Kevin left she sat back in her chair deep in thought.

_Something must be done..._

 

Sam wandered to his locker in the boys room and went in the shower stalls again to change. He hissed as he took off his shoes and bit back a yelp when he moved his arm to take off his shirt. Both injuries felt like they were fresh and his arm that had been cut into felt as though it were on fire. It was then he realized that he was going to have to wear a short sleeve shirt and he froze at the thought of them seeing that word cut into his arm. How was he supposed to make up a story for that? He thought about saying he did that himself but then they would call in a counselor or a therapist both of which would mean they'd call John again. Silent tears fell down his face as he pondered the thought what that would mean for him... death possibly. As much as he hated being trapped and confined to the house he didn't want to die either so he decided since he can't do any of the exercises then he would just keep his hoodie on. His ankle though it was pretty swollen along with that limp of his he chose to bear the pain for a little while longer. He trudged out of the stalls and put his balled up clothes in his locker. He wasn't even gonna bother running this time and went he went out he ignored the stares he got. He was starting to tremble though.

_Too much attention..._

Castiel stared at the message on his phone and kept a watchful eye on Sam. He noted the bruises again and was clearly able to tell that Sam was hiding a limp. The sweater had just confirmed to him that John had obviously done something to make him hide his arms. He took a picture unbeknownst to Sam and sent it straight to Dean. Castiel just looked on in worry over the poor freshman.

_Sam, please. Let us help you._

Coach Rufus began barking the usual routines. He looked over everyone and he did a double take at Sam. The poor kid looked even worse than yesterday and was also wearing a hoodie. That sent him on alarm and he began writing notes. He shook his head as he did so, wondering why Sam kept denying what happened to him. The students knew what was going on, the teachers knew what was going on, hell even some people from other parts of town knew what was going on so why hide? While the students did the workouts he saw that Sam was gonna try to do some again. He groaned inwardly at the thought, yes he had enthusiasm but he didn't know his limit. The other day was painful to have witnessed Rufus couldn't stop thinking about it since it happened and when he told the other members of the staff they lost their appetites.

"Winchester! To the benches!" He yelled before Sam could even start any warm ups. Sam gave a resigned look and headed over to the benches. He froze a bit when he saw Coach Turner walking towards him.

"Sam how's everything at home?" He folded his arms.

"Fine sir. Everything's fine." He was met with a monotone voice.

"You sure Sam? You'd tell me or any of the staff if there was something wrong at all?"

"Yes, I would sir."

"Why do you have your jacket on?"

"I'm cold sir. I get cold very easily." He managed to sway a little yet kept his attention to the ground. He knew it was poor excuse but he couldn't think of anything else.

Rufus eyed him warily and noted that he was in bad shape in regards to standing and that he had shifted most of his weight to his left leg but kept it at that. "Alright then sit down." He pulled out his clipboard and jotted things down and went to the class.

Cas finally got a response to the picture he sent Dean.

_Jesus Christ he looks like a zombie! How's he holding up?_

Cas sighed then replied.

_Not well I believe the teachers know that something is going on. Coach Turner keeps pulling him aside to talk to him but not much progress has been made. He has trouble walking and standing sometimes. I believe that his father has done something to his arms Sam never keeps his hoodie on while in class and his right arm Kevin says is hardly moving we must investigate this..._

He went back to his routine as he waited for a reply. It seemed as though things kept getting worse for Sam according to Castiel. What could Sam have done in order to deserve what John did? It was then that Cas realized nothing, nothing Sam could have done in order to deserve such treatment. Sam seemed like the child that every parent would want. He got good grades, stayed out of trouble, and did nobody any harm. So why? Why did John feel the need to neglect and punish his child if he had done absolutely nothing wrong? The very question made Cas angry. Almost as angry as the fact that as class went on Sam did everything to ignore and stay away from Cas.

_Sam is ignoring me and any attempts at help._

Dean looked at the text and cursed. This was gonna be more difficult than planned if Sam kept acting that way. He decided then at free period he would come up with a way to get the kid to talk.

When the bell rang Sam stayed behind in the stalls until he made sure there was no one else around and left. Cas was left confused wondering how and where Sam could have slipped off to. He let out a deep sigh and left to maybe have a group meeting with Dean along with others. Sam, after he slipped out, decided he wasn't going to go to the library after all considering what happened the other day. He didn't realize the path he was going to until he ran into his teacher Crowley.

By this time the halls had barely any students in them. So not much of a chance would he be stared at or be judged by them.

"Sam can I have a word with you? It's rather urgent. Me and some other staff members are concerned about your health." He stood by the classroom door hoping that Sam would at least come in and they could chat in private.

Sam clenched his fists and began to back away. His heart began pounding in his chest at the thought of them finding out. The adrenaline pumped through his veins as the voice in his head began screaming at him to run. Drop everything and run.

"I-I gotta go. I need to work on some as-signments." He stuttered out and began quaking a little getting ready to run.

Crowley stepped forward, "Please Sam. I'm- We're only trying to help." He grabbed Sam by the wrist when he turned around about to run off.

_It's his fault! His fault! His fault you won't get to eat for days. His fault your arm hurts! His fault he carved that word into you! His fault that your leg hurts and you can barely walk! His fault that you have to stay in the attic!_

His mind screamed at him and his eyes watered. He couldn't bite his tongue anymore. He turned and said with a broken voice, "You've done enough."

Crowley was frozen in shock at that and Sam took that moment to yank his wrist out of his grip and hobbled away quickly.

Tears pricked at his eyes as he made his way to the gym annex that nobody ever went in or used. He could hide there for now and perhaps stay in there from now on. He burst inside and sat his backpack on the bottom bleacher. He began sobbing loudly, shaking and trembling as he let it all out. He wrapped his arms around his legs and pushed his head against his knees and cried until it turned into sniffling, unaware that a boy with golden eyes full of mischief was in there with him and seeing everything...

 

 

 

 Today was another ordinary day well, as ordinary as it could be when you were the school prankster. His name was Gabriel but people called him Gabe for short unless you were a teacher then you just called him trouble. He always carried himself with a certain air around him, that air being one of mischief. He was only a sophomore yet everyone knew better than to mess with him. If anyone did well he made it fairly certain that they'd regret it, the last person learned that the hard way and ended up switching schools as well as names. Somehow he made the senior pranks look like mere child's play.

If anyone heard him laughing usually it was a hint that something was bound to happen. His honey amber eyes always sparkled in the morning, day, and night. The glint in his eyes though always spelled trouble. He was master craftsman at what he did. Some called him cruel with his pranks but usually it was assholes that thought they'd done nothing wrong. For a small fee of two dollars he would help someone get back at another person and they would be unable to trace it back to him or the person paying for the service. For a fee of five dollars he would get someone suspended and a fee of ten dollars or more he would be able to get the person expelled. Everyone knew it was him including the teachers but did anyone ever call him on it? No usually because they'd rather not incur his wrath or they found it very entertaining (yes, including the teachers).

So today he was sitting in the gym annex just cackling on the top of the bleachers looking through a previous year book. He flipped to the page where Gordon Walker's picture was and put a star underneath it to mark his latest victim. Now that he looked at the picture again there were five other stars underneath his name. Guy must like getting what he deserved. The Friday before he heard Gordon and his friends talking about a smart kid with shaggy brown hair that was to them a weakling to try and force him to do their homework for them so clearly he had to get even as he didn't like bullies. Then he also got him for getting his friend Andy suspended.

He wore his olive green jacket, black shirt, and blue jeans. He ran his hand through his dirty blonde hair as he thought about the poor kid from yesterday who was in the library. He heard rumors about a kid that was constantly coming to school looking like he was taking a beating constantly. He was unsure on whether or not it was true but he was pretty sure that it was him. He heard Gordon call him Sammy so at least he had a name to go by. He flipped through the yearbook looking for his picture, but he closed it in disappointment when he hadn't come across one.

_Kid must be fresh meat then._

He did away with the thought and took out his notebook and began making blueprints for his next grand prank to be played on cheerleader that held herself way too high and mighty. He scanned the book looking for her name and face.

_Bella, Bella, Bella... Ah! There you are!_

He began writing supplies that he needed when the gym door blew open and in came the shaggy haired boy. Gabe flinched and ducked thinking it was a teacher but poked his head out and his eyes widened in disbelief at what he saw. The boy was pale, shaken, and looked like he hadn't eaten in months. Sam threw down his bag and fell on his hands and knees sobbing. Sam wiped his eyes with his sweater and moved to sit up against the bleachers. Gabe quietly set down his things and slowly started making his way down the bleachers not making a sound so as not to spook him. Sam curled up with his knees pulled up to his chest as his sobbing began to turn into sniffles. He crept up to him and held out his hand to reach him and put his hand on his shoulder in a reassuring touch. The second he did Sam flinched and looked up at him with wide eyes and immediately fell over backwards. He scrambled to get away from him and let out a sharp cry as the pain in his ankle came back with a fierce reminder of what happened to it.

 

"Hey! Hey! It's ok! It's ok! I'm not gonna hurt you. I promise! Everything's gonna be ok." He held out a hand to Sam.

Sam only looked on with watery eyes but timidly took his offer to help him up. Gabe grabbed Sam's hand and put his arm around his neck and walked him towards the first bench. Hesat him down and began digging through his bag. He felt the kid put all his weight on one side so there was some sort of obvious damage done to his leg.

"Is your name Sam?" He looked at him with concern.

Sam blinked and wiped his nose with hand before slowly nodding.

"Hi Sam. I'm Gabe. Gabe Shurley. Got a bad ankle eh? I think I have something that'll help ya." He pulled out a ice pack from his lunchbox and placed it on Sam's ankle. He hissed but the cold against his skin made him feel relieved.

"That ought to feel better," he grabbed a bag out of his pocket, "Gummy worm?" he offered.

Sam sniffed and wiped his eyes. He gave a slow nod and slowly took a few from the bag.

"So what happened with your ankle?" He asked.

"Fell down while hiking," Sam rasped out and looked away.

Gabriel sighed, "Is that what he told you to say?" He looked on at Sam.

Sam was taken aback. He was about to say that it wasn't anyone's fault but his own for being clumsy while out but when he looked into Gabe's eyes he wasn't met with sympathy or pity no, he was met with _understanding_. The self blame died in his mouth as Gabe gave him a knowing stare.

He immediately looked down than say anything that would betray his mouth and flinched when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"He hurts you doesn't he? Your dad... He makes you feel like everything is your fault and it feels like no one can help you or hear you screaming. Makes you feel like you deserve it doesn't he?" The gaze he was given was soft and heartfelt. It was so unlike him but he couldn't help it.

A tear slid down Sam's cheek as he nodded.

"How d-do you kn-know?" Sam stuttered.

"Because... I used to be in the same boat you were."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I know cliffhangers are evil but sometimes ya gotta leave people wanting more... anyways feedback would be welcome


	8. Cold (But I'm Still Here)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of Info on Gabriel

 

Sam paused for a moment wondering if he heard that right. "What?" he asked.

"Yep. I used to be in the same boat as you. My last name wasn't always Shurley." He unwrapped a lollipop and started sucking on it, thinking fondly. "Actually I can't remember what my last name was anymore... I remember I hated it though."

Sam looked at him in contemplation on whether or not he should ask but curiosity got the better of him. A sniffle escaped him as he wiped his nose with the sleeve of his jacket. "What happened?"

"Hmm? Oh! Basically I was left alone a lot as a kid when I was like six maybe seven even. My old man would be off working getting whoever to watch me sometimes it would be his friends, sometimes it would be drug addicts, or even alcoholics but either way it just wasn't good. One thing I hated more than when he was gone was when he would be with me. He beat me black and blue for no reason." Gabe said with a dry laugh. "He would get this look in his eyes like I was the worst thing that ever happened to him. When I was ten I found out that I wasn't really planned and was the reason my dad married my mom, but at the time I didn't know I used to have a mom." Gabe looked down sadly lost in his thoughts,

Sam by now had felt horrible and guilty for asking such a question. He was about to say sorry for doing so when Gabe spoke back up.

"Turned out my mom had died giving birth to me and it sent my dad into some insane psycho spiral downward. So he hurt me in a lot of ways. Sometimes he'd beat me, sometimes he made me walk on glass in my bare feet, he also liked trying to turn everything into some weapon of torture and other times I was left alone. Anyways one day he didn't come home so I waited oddly enough. Strange though, huh?"

Sam looked questioningly at him. Gabe looked into his eyes.

"Guy treats me like total crap and there I was waiting for him to come home. I don't even know why either, especially since I knew that him being home would result in only more pain."

Gabe sighed and shook his head. "I guess it must have been that I was scared of being alone" He blinked and got immersed in his thoughts for a few seconds before continuing, "Anyways so I waited for him and there's no one watching me. I was just in a big empty house. Me. A ten year old kid. In the dark of the night. Then I fell asleep and when I woke up he still wasn't home so I waited again. One day turned into two, then three and by the fifth day I was out in the streets looking for food. Some people felt sorry for me I guess and gave me bits of food and that was a godsend to me. People like that. It went on like that for days and eventually a whole month passed by and when I returned home one night and was ready to sleep when people broke in to the house. Turns out it was some cops and they took me in and I had no clue what the hell was going on. As it turns out the old man had just decided to fuck it all and left. He left no trail at all. The last name I had was my mother's and he just disappeared without mentioning it to anybody. I got put into child protective services and I was in a group home until I was twelve. And this guy named Chuck Shurley decides to pick me out the whole damn lot of three hundred kids and adopted me."

"Not that I'm ungrateful for it but I still don't know why he chose me. But the thing is Chuck's a real nice guy and he always wanted a kid of his own but you know he had trouble finding the right woman so in the end he chose adoption. Could have chosen a baby but he didn't. About a year later I decided to have him change my last name to his since he's been an actual father to me. Now I'm here all healthy, alive and well in the end. We were originally from Virginia but then we moved here a couple years ago and I've been harassing people ever since." He added the last part with a chuckle.

Oddly enough it made Sam smile for the first time in a long time. Gabe looked at Sam and made an over dramatic gasp as well as a shocked face. Sam look worried and a little frightened.

"What?!" He asked a little frantically.

"You're smiling!" Gabe leaned toward him in amusement.

Sam blinked and began laughing at that. It was really unexpected of all things. Gabe had thought it was one of the best things in the world and noticed that he managed to bring Sam out of his little rut. Sam's tears had long dried up since then and the feeling of laughing let alone smiling felt odd and strange to him but in a good way.

Gabriel reached into his bag a held out more gummy worms for Sam to take. Sam was now relaxed and his troubles were gone for a moment as he sat next to him and nibbled on a worm. They remained quiet for a few minutes until Gabe broke the silence.

"So what's your story Sam?" His expression was serious.

Sam looked nervously at him then down before adding, "I don't know... I don't know what I did to him." He grew quiet.

"He... he drinks a lot and is gone most of the time but he gives me a bunch of chores to do. Some are... some I can do but other times it's really impossible. Once he told me to paint the house last year. He wanted the whole front done by the time he got home. I can't do that though, I'm just one person and even then I'm only a kid. When he came home after work and saw that I only did half of it he took me inside and beat me with a bat. He said that I was slacking off and that three hours was more than enough time to get the front done. What I managed to get done wasn't good enough and he made me start over but with a different color." Some looked down and his eyes began to water again.

"I wanna run away so much but..." He trailed off.

"You're scared of being alone and that you won't be able to survive without him because it's the only home you've ever known." Gabe put a hand on his shoulder.

Tears slid from eyes as Sam nodded and began sniffling.

There was a strong silence between them and Gabe looked at him and then pulled him into a hug. Sam froze for a moment and then returned the hug and buried his face into Gabe's shoulder relishing in the comfort. Who knew when the next time someone would finally understand what he'd been going through.

"Don't worry Sam. You won't be alone, not anymore." He pulled away, looking Sam straight into his eyes. "He refuses you food doesn't he?"

Sam nodded, blinking away the rest of the tears.

Gabe nodded and immediately made a decision that would ultimately save Sam's life. "Every free period we meet in here and I'll split half of my lunch with you and you can tell me every horrible thing he tries and I'll help you get through it. How does that sound kiddo?" He smiled.

Sam's eyes widened at the prospect of someone doing that for him. On one hand it was the single most generous thing a person could do for him on the other hand he didn't want to mooch off Gabe and his food. "I don't want you to have to do that for m-" Gabe held up a hand interrupting Sam.

"Nope. Not gonna have you suffer anymore. Kiddo at this rate from how skinny you are, you aren't gonna last much longer on your own. Besides I'm not just gonna stand by and watch this happen."

Sam nodded, "Okay."

"Alright then we got a plan," Gabe pulled his lunch box out from his backpack, "On today's menu we have... Two sandwiches, a bag of chips, soda, and for desert gummy worms!" He smiled.

Sam's mouth watered at the prospect of food. His stomach growled at the sight of it.

Gabe handed over the food, "Dig in." He smiled.

Sam took a bite of the ham sandwich savoring the combination of ham, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. Swallowing the food his eyes watered and he put the sandwich down and gave Gabe a hug, "Thank you. I don't know when I'll have food again, but thank you. No one has ever given me a cha- Just thank you." He squeezed him.

"Anytime Sam. Anytime." He let him go and gestured for Sam to keep eating.

 

 

 

 

Dean settled underneath a tree waiting for everyone else. He sent out a text for everyone to meet him there and they were gonna discuss what they were going to do about lunch. He lay down and used his jacket as a pillow.

_Sam Winchester... I've heard that name before... Where did I hear the name Winchester?_

He thought harder and vaguely remembered a deep voice. It sounded loud and was mixed in with hearing his mother's voice. He closed his eyes in concentration. He remembered he was scared, but scared of what? The deep voice was getting loud and then he heard his mom yelling. He had never heard his mom yell like that. Then he heard the sound of a baby crying. That was odd. Why was he hearing a baby crying? It was all fuzzy but then as it was starting to become clear it was interrupted with someone nudging his feet.

"Dean. Dean!" It was a female voice.

"Huh?"

"You falling asleep? I thought we were supposed to be coming up with an idea to get Sam to sit with us." Jo prodded at his foot again.

"Nah I'm not asleep. Just thinking is all. Where's everyone else?"

"They're on the way. What were you thinking about?" She sat down beside him in the shady grass.

"Just... I swear I think I know that Sam Winchester kid somewhere. Maybe I ran into him when I was a kid or something." He looked down in confusion.

"Could be or maybe it's just your subconscious just playing tricks on you." She offered looking at him.

"I don't think so. Whatever I'll have plenty of time to think about it later," he said as the others walked up to him, "Hey guys glad you're here."

They all nodded and sat down. Kevin pulled out a notebook in case it was needed.

"So Cas wasn't able to get to Sam." Dean announced and they all looked to Cas with questioning looks on their faces.

"He was rather motivated to avoid me and refused to listen to me in both English and in P.E. as well as avoiding everyone else especially the teachers."

Kevin spoke up, "Well in math my mom wanted me to try and get him to open up. I tried talking to him about small things, anything really but it was like he was barely listening at all. He also wasn't moving his arm much so maybe something happened to him."

"It is certain that his father did something to him. During P.E. it did not seem like he was capable of moving it. He also wore his sweater. He never wears it during P.E. so I can guess that the damage done has been extensive." Castiel sighed and shook his head. He couldn't help but wonder what it was that happened to his arm, he just hoped the damage wasn't too severe.

Benny took off his cap and scratched his head. "On my way here I saw a teacher trying to talk to him. I don't know what he said but it was enough for the teacher to be freaked out."

Kevin was writing it all down and tapped his fingers nervously. Something needed to be done and fast or god knows what would happen to Sam.

"Where did he go?" Jo's face looked pensive.

"I don't know. After the teacher let go of him, he took off in the opposite direction. That limp though, it's pretty bad now that I remember it. It looked like he kept all his weight on the other leg but regardless he got away from that teacher pretty quick. Seems to me like he doesn't want anybody's help."

"Why wouldn't he want anyone's help? Seems silly to just disregard anyone that comes near him." Charlie twirled the pencil in her hand.

"Look at it this way Charlie, he's practically got no one but himself. It the only life he knows. He has to keep his head down low so anyone that tried to help he might think of as a threat. Me and Jo can keep an eye on John down at the roadhouse."

"Yeah, me and Ash can compare his moods from the afternoon to how Sam shows up in school."

Garth broke in a little frustrated, "After he's had a beating? I thought we were all for stopping this thing? How's just sitting by and watching it happen gonna help?" He folded his arms.

"I know it's not ideal Garth but it's the only thing we got so far, plus if we keep record of how Sam's appearance is changing in accordance to his dad's drunken escapades it'll provide us as witnesses and the proof we need to be able to take this to the police." Dean sighed, not liking the idea too but they had no other option. Well, unless Sam suddenly decided to speak out about the whole but the chances of that were slim to none.

"So at lunch we'll find him and invite him over assuming the kid isn't afraid. Alright?" Dean looked around as they all nodded. "Charlie like I said yesterday you're the least intimidating of us all so you'll have to approach him cautiously."

"Okay but how do I get him to come with me?" She looked around, "That is if he manages to make eye contact and everything."

"Talk to him and try to relate to him or get him to relax," Dean offered.

"Kevin hasn't had that much success in that department, what makes you think I'll be any better?"

"Charlie just try okay? You're the only chance we got. Everyone else just keep an eye on his behavior and any new bruises or differences."

They all nodded and began discussing what they've seen about Sam and his dad over the course of the months and rumors of how long it's been happening. Cas made suggestions of taking pictures of his appearance to document the abuse and now it was his responsibility.

 

Meanwhile at the nurses office Nurse Masters was reading the emails she was getting from Sam's teachers. She sighed and shook her head and began writing a report and filed it along with what she found yesterday. She rested her forehead on her hand and shook her head. Emailing his teachers just wasn't doing enough for her job. She put down her pen and sat back in her chair looking at the ceiling.

_No time like the present..._

She grabbed the phone and began calling his teachers to set up a meeting after school so they could all openly discuss Sam and that would also include the principle. She began hoping that they would all be able to do something or anything for him. From what she gathered in the emails Sam had come in the school today worse than before. She couldn't help but wonder what could've happened in those twenty four hours to cause that abuse towards Sam. She knew she was gonna have to call Sam up on the intercom again so she could inspect the damage and that was gonna be a battle in and of itself but decided she'll cross that bridge when she got to it.

 

Back in Crowley's classroom he sat in his chair with guilt all over his face. Echoing in his head was Sam's broken voice, "You've done enough." That small simple sentence haunting him. Was it his fault Sam came in looking worse? Was it all because that one phone call he made to his father? He folded his arms and gave a slow breath. He had no idea there was gonna be a repercussion let alone that type of repercussion.

This was going to be trickier than he thought. He couldn't do this alone so he agreed to Nurse Masters meeting with his other teachers. They had to be blind not to be able to see what was happening. How much could they do to help though? If Sam stayed so closed up about his father then odds are his father would threaten the poor kid to keep from it getting out. Would his father be able to slip past every evaluation or effort made from them? No, No his father wouldn't be able to do that... would he?

He pulled out some headache pills from inside his desk. This was going to be another one of those days. Hopefully they'd get something done when this meeting was over and he had talked with the others. What would the principle's thought on this be? Would she help? Would Hannah be able to do something they all couldn't? The thoughts worried him. All that was left to do was wait for the day to end.

The bell rang signaling free period to be over and for lunch to begin.

 

 

 

Back in the gym annex Gabe was talking to Sam about some pranks he'd done to people over the years and the reasons why. Sam was drawn in to hearing all those tales and smiled and laughed at the ones that hit the person right where it got them. He couldn't help but feel that what Gabe was doing was justice. Gabe had pulled out his notebook that was full of prank designs and list of people he had. He continued by showing Sam his yearbook and explain the reasons for the stars under some student names.

"That one right there. He was my latest victim," he said pointing to Gordon Walker's picture.

"I think I saw that yesterday. Did you hit him with a stink bomb and firecrackers in the library?" Sam asked.

"Yeah! The douche canoe deserved it for doing that to my friend Andy. Plus I may or may not have heard that he was planning on forcing you to do his and his friends homework." Gabe smirked that he was able to prevent that.

"He was?" Sam looked down at his picture for a moment, "Thank you. No one's ever done that for me before."

"Anytime Sammo, anytime. Just stick with me and no one will ever be able to lay a finger on you." He pulled an arm around Sam and gave a small hug and pat on his shoulder.

Sam gave a small smile. "Can I see your pen?"

"Yeah sure. What for?" He handed it over.

Sam took it and gave Gordon a twiggly mustache and Gabe immediately began laughing. "What is that?!" He asked still in hysterics.

"Well Gordon's a jerk so I gave him something that would help identify him as one." Sam scratched his neck as he snickered.

"Good point... You know he needs something else..." He mused.

"He does?"

"Yeah... How about... a monocle!" He laughed as he drew the circle over Gordon's right eye as well as the string.

Now it was Sam's turn to laugh, "Give him a top hat too!"

"Great idea Sammo! What would a evil villain be without a top hat? Nothing!" He cackled as he drew and colored it over his head. "Oh I'll give him a arm and hand too! It wouldn't be complete if he wasn't twirling his dastardly mustache! Let's call him Mustachio!" He said as he gave Gordon a twig arm going up to the mustache the stick fingers twirling it too. "Can't forget the goatee either!" Drawing that under Gordon's lips. Gabe dropped the pen as he and Sam both dissolved into laughter. Gabe fell off the bleacher and onto the floor clutching his sides.

Sam was almost crying he was laughing so hard. This was the most happiest he had felt in forever. He sucked in a few breaths. God, he didn't want this to end. He lay on his side slowing down his breathing.

"Gabe? Will you be my friend?" He asked smiling.

"Why Sammo I'm shocked you're even asking. Of course kiddo." He ruffled Sam's hair.

Sam was happy. For once he had a friend. A friend that he confide and tell everything to. This day was better than it had started out.

"Tell ya what kiddo let's just hang out in here for lunch okay?" Gabe smiled.

Sam smiled back and nodded his head. Gabe then proceeded to pull out his plans to take on some other notorious bullies.

_I'm pretty sure the guys won't miss me for this lunch session._

"Now, you wanna help me plot some good old fashioned revenge? I got a feeling you might."

Sam paused a moment before asking, "What did they do?"

"I am so glad you asked kiddo. But you're asking the wrong question. It's what _didn't_ they do." And with that Gabe went off about the many things he witnessed the kids on his little target list they did. Sam merely nodded along with his sullen expression changing to a look of surprise. Someone was actually letting him be with them. Usually others asked about his bruises or marks and he stayed away from those people but Gabe was able to look past that and see him as a person rather than a victim. 

_Maybe I'll be okay with Gabe by my side._

 

 Sam continued to listen to Gabe go over his plans of justice with a slight smile tugging on the right corner of his mouth. His first high school friend.

 

 

Dean was sitting at the table at lunch time while the others were grabbing their food. He looked over at the table where Sam was sitting yesterday but he didn't see him.

_Where the hell is the kid?_

He began looking around the cafeteria for other empty tables for a possible sight of Sam but only grew frustrated when he didn't see any. His fingers tapped on the table nervously. He remembered how bad of a state Sam was in the morning so it could be possible that he was in the nurses office but he had high doubts about it.

 He began looking at other tables just to see if Sam was somehow hidden with other people but that was highly unlikely too. The poor kid had no friends so Dean sighed and tapped his fingers again on the table.

The more he thought about Sam the more foggier his mind was getting. He knew Sam but how he was connected with the kid he had no idea. Could it be a kid he knew from long ago? A kid he only saw in passing? He doubted both those thoughts. It was right there but he couldn't figure it out.

 Dean knew this was gonna bug him until he figured it out. He thought about asking his mom since she was friendly with a bunch of the townspeople and their children. Maybe she knew who he was. 

When they all sat down and looked at Charlie she merely shrugged and shook her head at them.

"I know what I'm supposed to do but I can't find him. We all saw him come to school today obviously but from the looks of things he's disappeared."

They looked around. They didn't see him in the the cafeteria and they went wandering in the courtyard.

Garth scratched his head, "You think Sam went home?"

Everyone looked at Garth like he grew a second head. "What? It's just a possibility y'all."

Jo crossed her arms, "I don't think so Garth. Sam probably enjoys being at school more than being at home. With the way his dad drinks and gets into bar fights he most likely isn't a morning person or a day person to begin with."

Ash opened a can of root beer. "I'm gonna agree with Jo on that one. He's probably out like a light after he drops Sam off until he goes to work or something like that."

"Perhaps Samuel is avoiding us since we keep trying to peruse into his home life." Cas rested his cheek on his arm.

"Doubt it Cas. The kid has no idea what we're trying to do. He's probably just off somewhere working on homework or buried in another book." Dean took a bite out of his burger.

"The library is closed during lunch Dean. So he won't be there." Charlie just sighed, another failed attempt to reach out to Sam.

"Should we just give up then?" Benny scratched his chin and everyone turned at him with looks of shock. "I'm not saying we should I'm just asking if we are."

"No." They all agreed in unison.

They had all given up in finding Sam soon after. They had practically looked everywhere where he could be but the poor freshman could not be found. They never considered the Gym annex because no one ever used it. Had they went in they would have seen to their surprise laughter coming from Sam and Gabriel for some reason doing the chicken dance.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with Sam's last two teachers taking down their usual notes on Sam. Pam monitored him as they did more lab work, again, he was refusing to work with anyone. She had small admiration for Garth though, it seemed that he had taken it upon himself to become Sam's friend and despite Sam trying to shut everyone out he was determined to be there for him. She looked over the email from Nurse Masters about meeting after school with his other teachers and she agreed. This was a start at least.

In the middle of class Sam was called out to go to the nurses office and as he was leaving Pam did notice something off about his arm and his limp. She couldn't help but wonder if his other teachers thought the same thing.

Inias, for Sam, was the worst. He didn't seem to want to let go and with his whole "I-care-about-everyone-of-my-students" attitude he took special observation of Sam and Sam only. He was practically able to write and record every little small scratch on Sam. Inias was the most observant of all teachers in school which Sam thought it was just his bad luck that he had him for his last class. Every now and then in class he would call Sam over and ask him about his home life, how he was feeling that day, and sometimes offer him food but Sam never took it. Sam saw it as disobedience and would never do it in case John had someone watching him plus it would only send off alarms if he just wolfed down a sandwich in three minutes.

The risk of what he had to face at home was not worth it. He was already on a thin line with John, the last thing he wanted was for something worse to come along and take it to another impossible level. So he went home on the bus surprisingly without a word being said to him from Inias. That alone should have told Sam something was up but he wasn't gonna look a gift horse in the mouth.

Inias watched as Sam got on the bus and sighed. He went to the counselors office and there he was met with his other teachers as discussed in the emails. Each one nodded and said their hello's and the sat and waited. Nurse Masters appeared with the principle Hannah next to her.

The principle and nurse sat down at the table. The principle had a file with her and nurse Master with a similar file only thicker. The other teachers had their own written notes in front of them.

Hannah looked at them. "So. You all wanted to talk to me about a student... Sam Winchester?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you haven't noticed I am utter crap at Chapter naming so I'm actually using songs from bands I listen to heh ^^' Also again sorry for the long wait for this and sorry if it seems short to you but work cut in a lot as we hired a newbie and he keeps calling off leading me to cover most if not all his shifts which is good for my paycheck no doubt but bad for my stress and bad for this story of course but needles to say he will probably get canned soon so hopefully quicker updates... Sorr for the cliffhangers... Again :P


	9. It's Not Your Fault

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam's teachers along with the principle and Nurse get together to discuss the matter at hand of Sam Winchester while Mary wonders what became of her young son along with her friend Sheriff Jody Mills.

 

The room was tense as principle Hannah sat down and opened Sam's file. The file itself was thick due to records from the many different schools he had been switched in and out of.

"So. You all wanted to talk with me about a student... Sam Winchester." She picked up the photo of him that was used for his student I.D. She stared at it oddly as she noticed his clothing was worn and had what looked like a purple bruise leading towards his collar bone but was covered up by his shirt.

"Yes. I, well, along with various members of the staff if not the whole school believe that he is being abused by his father." Meg was nervously tapping her finger on the table.

"I see," Hannah flipped to the next page on his file.

The teachers all looked at one another in confusion. It seemed like to them that she wasn't very interested in their meeting. Inias let out a small huff upon seeing this. Hannah sighed and leaned back in her chair and looked at every single one of them.

"These are quite extreme accusations, but of course I will hear you all out. Now why do each of you suspect this?"

Crowley was the first to speak buttoning his suit jacket. "The boy refuses to speak with anyone and continues to make excuses each morning in regards to the bruises when he comes in. Every morning he comes in worse than he was the day before."

Rufus let out a sigh before speaking, "Sam is one of my students in the morning. I've seen antisocial kids and kids with different potential in terms of physical activity but that boy is the most anti social kid in the school and he can barely do any exercises without nearly fainting. Any type of physical activity jumping jacks, sit ups, push ups you name it and he can barely do one without struggling. The poor child looks like he hasn't eaten in days too. I can't think of anything else that could do that to a kid." Rufus scratched and shook his head. His mind went to the day before when Sam was trying so hard to participate, to do the exercises he knew he couldn't do. The poor kid would try so hard to be normal but they all knew he couldn't be.

"I've been trying to get my son Kevin to try and speak with Sam but he won't budge and he buries himself deep into his studies even though he is ahead of his class he seems to space out for a while and he just looks very haunted. He also refuses to make eye contact with anyone almost like he's afraid of doing so." Ms. Tran was just itching to get Sam out that horrible home. Without a doubt from day one she knew he was in trouble when he first came into her class with a black eye and red marks around his neck. Sam had said he'd ran into a door that morning and that the red marks were from something that got caught around his neck.

Pamela leaned forward against the round desk. "Hannah I'm pretty sure you've heard about this student. Every member of the staff knows who he is and they don't even have him in their classes. I even heard about him before he came to this school. The story was even the same at his previous school. He showed up every day riddled with bruises and cuts on every visible part of his body. He made constant excuses about where they came from. The only difference is that they never called to see why. Maybe if they had Sam would be in a much better home and his father would be locked away where he would never have to see him again!"

Hannah shook her head. "Look I'm inclined to believe you all, really I am, but has Sam ever actually admitted this is openly happening? Has he ever said that his father was doing this to him? Has he ever once called for help?" She looked around and everyone was looking down. "Well has he? Because right now if he hasn't said anything there is nothing more we can do. Right now these accusations of child abuse and neglect are null unless he goes to anyone for help."

Inias looked hurt at hearing that. "That's the problem Hannah! He won't go to anyone for help. He's afraid to go to anyone for help!" Inias was practically staring into her eyes with determination.

"You're not the one who has to see it happening before your eyes, we are! You never get to see him struggle to walk. You don't ever get to see him come in everyday with bruises of different colors! To have to see him trying to cover it all up with simple excuses. Most of all you don't have to sit in the classroom and watch him grow weaker every day and see him wasting away into nothing! There's no denying what's happening with him. We all know why he comes in like that. It's time now to act before it's too late!"

"Inias while you are correct that doesn't mean we can just go barging in with the police and accuse his father with child abuse unless we have some sort of evidence or concrete proof. You all know that in terms o-"

"Proof? Evidence? The bloody proof and evidence is all over his face and torso!" Crowley interrupted.

"Damn it Hannah what will it take to do something? If we don't help him in anyway we can then we're sure to have a dead body on our hands." Rufus crossed his arms and scowled.

"Hannah, mother to mother, you can't sit there and say you don't feel anything wrong in regards to him. Even on his ID photo you can see some bruises on him. How would you feel if Anna was in the same situation? If you saw her wasting away as fast as Sam is." Ms. Tran pleaded.

Hannah looked at all of them as they stared at her hoping she was making the right decision. "Look, I know we all want to help him, Lord knows I want to help him but as I said before we can't just have the police barge in."

Everyone sighed and shook their heads at her decision, Inias not believing what he just heard.

"However, what I can do is call his father to meet wi-"

"NO! Do not call his father. For all that is holy DO NOT CALL HIS FATHER!" Crowley practically screaming that order at her. Everyone looked back at him surprised at that.

"You know I can't do that Crowley but I have to know why I shouldn't call his father." Hannah gave her full attention as well as the others did.

"Yesterday I was worried about Sam. I knew he was lying and I decided to call his father to voice my concern as to why he came back over the weekend more bruised and weaker than before. And... well I have no doubt that the state Sam came in today was no coincidence after my call." Crowley looked and felt guilty that it was his fault that Sam was worse today. He'd only wanted to make his life better but instead he'd made it worse.

The other teachers eyes widened at that. Nurse Masters looked a little pale.

Hannah couldn't believe this and she was almost afraid to ask but she knew she had to anyway, "What state was Sam Winchester in today?"

"I called him in today," Nurse Masters piped up, "He had many bruises on his torso, as well as on his face. His leg had some sort of damage on it and was swollen. He threw a fit the other day when I suggested calling his father. His arm was dislocated and on the other...." She let out a shuddering sigh.

"What?" Hannah asked. "Meg what happened to his other arm?"

"The word "unlovable" was carved into his arm. It wasn't there the day before." She remembered the look of horror Sam gave her at the thought of removing his sweater. And the fit he threw when the sleeve rode up. When she stopped and saw that word she looked horrified and Sam chose that opportunity to leave the nurses office and head back to class. She had stood in shock and was unable to move for a whole ten minutes.

No one knew what to say at that. Each and everyone of them in shock for a few moments. Rufus rested his head his hand.

_That's why he didn't take off his sweater. I should've known something was wrong._

Inias finally broke the silence. "You wanted proof and there it is written plain as day on his arm."

 "What did Sam say when you discovered it?" Hannah felt sick hearing that someone would do that to their own kid.

"He didn't say anything. I didn't even know what to say or how to ask him about that. He took that opportunity and fled to who knows where." She put her head in her hands and fought back tears unable to think of what his father could possibly do if Hannah called his home but there was no other option left. They would all have to hear John's side of the story at some point and even then he would make lies. He could say anything or get Sam to say he made it all up.

"He came back to class. He wouldn't talk or make eye contact and ignored everyone who has ever tried. He just buries himself in his work and books." Pamela began rubbing her eyes, "Look Hannah a kid like Sam will just outright deny everything because he's scared. More than likely his father will just find a way to keep the truth from being said in the light of day."

Everyone in the room nodded in agreement. Right now though they would all have to admit defeat to Hannah considering it was just how things had to be done in cases such as these.

"Alright then," Inias ignored the pit in his stomach at what he had to say, "Call his father. Set up a meeting with him and call Child Protective Services. It's better than nothing."

"You realize how much the boy will suffer right?" Crowley asked.

"What else can we do? It'll be a long time before he comes to tell the truth. It's the only option we have or he... dies." Inias hung his head low at the thought of the repercussion but in the long run it would help prove how unstable his father was and get Sam to a safer home, a better home.

"But we're gonna be hurting him more if we do that." Ms. Tran folded her arms.

"It's better than doing nothing Linda." Rufus sighed at this but Inias was right.

They all looked to Meg and Hannah and silently nodded.

"Meg get me Sam's contact information and the phone number for Child Protective Services. I'll make the call. I pray that you're all right and if Sam is truly in danger then the time to act is now."

Meg walked to the computer and pulled up Sam's contact information as well as bringing up the number for Child Protective Services. Each one of Sam's teachers quietly told themselves that this was for Sam's own good and that they were helping. Meg let out a shuddering sigh.

_He will be held accountable. This has gone on for too long._

 

 

 

 

 Mary Campbell sat down in a diner and sighed. She left Dean a note that she'd be gone for a little while and that leftovers were in the fridge. She closed her eyes and was taken back in time remembering laying in the hospital. She was exhausted but of course she was, that's what giving birth made you feel. She thought fondly as she remembered smiling down looking at a little bundle in her arms. She had another boy and sniffed happily at how precious he was moving around in his little blanket.

Dean was at the time, four years old and sleeping on the chair next to his mother's bed. The excitement of his mother having another boy, a baby brother that he always wanted, wearing off leaving little Dean tired. John was down at the cafeteria in the hospital getting some food for him and Dean. A tear ran down her face when he opened his little eyes and yawned.

"Sam. My little Sammy." She said in a warm loving voice.

"Mommy?" Dean rubbed his small hand in his eye.

"Hey sweetie. Did you wanna see Sammy?"

"Sammy's awake?" Dean squeaked.

"Yes. Come on over and look at your baby brother."

Dean scrambled to get up on the bed and next to his mom. He was in complete view of looking at his little brother and already couldn't wait until Sam was older. He could play hide and seek with him, play tag, play with toy cars, and on Halloween he would be batman while Sammy would be robin.

Sam looked a little pudgy and wiggled a bit in his mother's grasp. His eye's were a pretty hazel color and he had a puff of brown hair on his head that was already sticking in different directions. He managed to move his arms from out of the blanket he was in. He began to make little cooing noises as he moved.

Dean looked at him and smiled. Sam had his eyes glued to Dean already. Dean reached out to Sam on the blanket and gasped when Sam grabbed his hand in a small but firm grip.

"Hi Sammy. I'm Dean. I'm gonna be the best big brother you ever had." Dean smiled as he said it while baby Sammy cooed.

Mary chuckled at Dean's small comment. Sam let out a small wail when Dean pulled his hand away.

"Sweetheart you wanna hold Sammy?" asked Mary already seeing the small bond formed between them.

"Can I?" Dean's eyes lit up with barely containable excitement.

"Sure. Now put your arms like this," she maneuvered Sam into his arms, " Like that. Be careful."

Dean looked down, "Hi Sammy." Sam smiled and opened his tiny mouth showing nothing but gum.

"Mommy! He smiled at me! He's smiling at me!"

Mary chuckled and another tear slid down her face. It was one her favorite moments in her life so far. Everything right then and there seemed perfect. She could hear someone calling her name in the distance.

_Mary! Mary!_

She blinked and everything was back to normal and she was back in the restaurant with a friend looking down at her.

"Mary? Are you alright?" She asked in a concerned voice.

"Huh? Oh yes. I'm fine. I'm alright."

Her friend, Sheriff Jody Mills, sat across from her in her brown uniform yet she was off the clock. Her short brown hair shining in the lighting inside. She was relaxed and stared at Mary for a moment but let it go.

"You were kind of out of it. For a little while actually. Something on your mind?" She sipped at her soda.

"No- well yes actually. I was thinking about my son and how he was doing."

"Dean? The kid is a little stubborn but other than that he's fine."

Mary smiled and shook her head. Jody hadn't seen how stubborn he could be especially when it came to his friends but he also his heart in the right place.

"No, not Dean Jody I meant my other son Sam."

Jody remained quiet for a moment. "Sam? Oh! Sorry I forgot you had another one."

"Yeah from time to time I forget too. But sometimes I just can't help but wonder." Mary folded her arms on the table.

"How long has it been since you seen him again?"

"I haven't seen him since he was six months old."

Jody choked on her drink. "Six months?! Why haven't you seen him for so long?!"

"I was too busy taking care of Dean and building a new life away from John. It never occurred to me about how he was raising Sam. Honestly I don't even know if he's in town anymore or a new state or something." She felt a little guilty for leaving him alone.

"You don't keep in contact with John? Or haven't filed for child support?"

"Jody, I don't need any of John's money at all. And we haven't spoken since we've split up."

Jody sighed, "At this point maybe you shouldn't bother speaking to him or John."

"What do you mean?" She didn't like the sound of her tone at all.

"How old was Sam when you and John divorced?"

"He was barely six months old. He would be fourteen by now." She gripped her drink.

"Mary, that's too long. Sam most likely wouldn't remember you or see you as his mother. Unless John found a way to talk about you from time to time but other than that he probably doesn't know he has a mother."

"You don't know that Jody. Maybe John found someone else after me and she looks after Sam now."

"Mary that's a little hopeful. It's almost laughable in fact. With the way John was I doubt he found someone else. He was angry and violent. The alcohol just made it worse over time... Does Dean remember him or Sam at all?"

"Not that I know. After the divorce he just went quiet. He didn't talk much or ask any questions about why we split up or about Sammy."

"Sammy?" Jody smiled at the nickname.

"No matter what has happened he will always be my little baby Sammy." She looked away. "You think he's alright without me?"

"It's hard to say. Growing up with a single parents it has its ups and downs depending on the parent. Is Dean doing good with you and without his father?" She leaned back.

"Of course he's doing good. He's smart, reliable, and happy. Sam well, I just have a bad feeling about something. I don't know what it is but it's there and I can't help but worry over him. Whether I'm with him or not."

"You worry about Dean on a daily basis it's just your instinct as a mother. I knew how that felt once." Jody scratched the back of her head.

"Maybe... I'll try not to worry over him then. Besides there's hardly any chance he love me either if we saw each other. He'd probably think I had abandoned him. I think Dean might feel that same way about John. It's probably best if we never see each other again."

Finally the waitress brought the food Mary ordered twenty minutes ago. She told herself that it was the right thing to but yet it still felt like she made a wrong decision. The clenching in her gut had only managed to get a bit worse after making that decision. Should anyone had asked then she would play it off as just an upset stomach. She began tapping her foot nervously. No, it wasn't an upset stomach at all. There was something wrong. The only thing she didn't know was how bad it had gotten in her absence.

 

 

 

 

 

John was wiping oil smudges off his hand from giving a tune up to another's car. The phone had begun ringing loudly. He was still trying to get over his hangover.

"Hello? Yes this is John Winchester," He answered. Within moments his face went still and he began gritting his teeth. The boy had gotten into trouble again. Now his damn principle wanted to get involved. No matter to him though he would just find a way to get rid of any meddling teachers if he wanted. If the boy thought yesterday was terrible he had no idea. When he got home he was gonna make damn sure that the boy didn't screw up anymore. For right now though, he agreed to meet with Hannah and a case worker sounding very agreeable and understanding on the phone. After they'd hung up he slammed the phone on the receiver. It was surprising it didn't break.  He looked at the time it read five o'clock... he was going to be out soon and when he was out he'd make the school regret calling him out. He gave a crooked smile at the thought of what he had in store for the boy.

 

 

Sam was at home scrubbing the kitchen floor clean with a sponge. He was looking back on the day and his meeting of Gabe. At least one good thing came out of this whole situation. He stopped. He couldn't help but feel that something bad was gonna come his way. There was never anything good that came from his life. If something good happened then something worse came along. He just didn't know how bad it would be. He had no idea at all...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if it seems a bit short I've been working nothing but closing shifts and its a little hard to manage time. ^_^' but finally an update!


	10. The Consequence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so due to computer problems it finally occurred to me to write it out physically on paper before posting it on the computer ^_^' heh so I'll be doing that regularly :D gotta say though its nice to be back :)

 

By the time Sam had started on doing his chores for the day his right arm was feeling better. He was able to move it better than before, granted it wasn't much an improvement but he'd take it as a win. His left arm, he decided he would keep it covered even if he was at home. Every time he thought about what John did to it he felt and hollow on the inside so it would be best to ignore it. Right now Sam was scrubbing the tiles of the kitchen or was trying to. Sam was on his hands and knees with a sponge. Every five minutes he would stop only to stretch which unfortunately he felt a small stab of pain that reminded him of being slammed into the wall a couple times. No doubt there would be bruises from that as well. Sam sat against the wall breathing in and out trying not to think about the pain. His stomach growled for more food. He wished that John would give him some sort of food or scraps even if it was from the dog's bowl. He figured he'd eat pretty much anything at this point.

He sighed quietly to himself. He shouldn't have to be living like this but it was something he was used to by now. Sam checked on his feet, throughout the day they hurt like hell but now it seemed to have stopped. After taking off his socks, he noticed that the wounds thankfully scabbed over. His left ankle was still a problem as it was more swollen than before but yet again he decided to ignore it. Looking up outside the window he noticed it was getting more windy and the clouds were an ominous grey. Just then a loud clap of thunder sounded, shaking the house and setting off some car alarms in the neighborhood. Sam froze after hearing it. He quickly pulled his legs to his chest and covered his ears with his hands. As it began pouring outside Sam began crying, thinking of monsters just as he had when he was younger. He began to pray that by the time John got home the sky would be clear so that he wouldn't end up outside chained to the tree yet again. Lightning flashed and the wind picked up speed, tossing leaves and twigs across people's yards. Sam couldn't help but think that it was an omen.

_Why can't today just be over?! Please!_

The thunder roared in response. Sam's breathing grew more tense and his heart rate sped up. He began feeling a pit in his stomach, the hair on the back of his neck began standing on end. Sam was shaking like a leaf now, horrible memories of the chain around his right ankle while the wind whipped at his wet cold skin resurfaced. The sky rumbled as if it were breaking, the flashes of lightning lighting up the sky every few minutes. Another clap of thunder sounded, shaking the house again. Sam screamed. Time began passing quickly but the storm never let up. Sam was hyperventilating like the day before then suddenly the world went black.

 

When Sam regained consciousness the clock in the kitchen read five. The storm had managed to calm down to a slight drizzle. Sam sniffed, wiped his nose and returned to scrubbing the floor as if nothing had happened.  He was unaware that at the same moment John was getting a call from the school. When Sam was finished with the kitchen and dining room area he began doing dishes with small hisses of pain from both the hot water and soap that stung him. When that was done he began preparing John's dinner. Sam brought out ground beef and sauce for sloppy joe's. When the meat hit the pan Sam began longing for food again when the beef sizzled, filling the air with it's intoxicating scent. He reminded himself that Gabe was gonna give him food the next day but he began scolding himself that he was disobeying a direct order from John and on top of that, it was wrong to take Gabe's food. On the other hand Gabe was noble and willing to do this for him adding that it wasn't like he could turn it down Gabe would make sure he'd eat it whether he wanted to or not. His ankle throbbed in pain and his limp was reduced by a small amount, if only his arm was more responsive but every now and again it would twitch or move without him telling it to. He began mixing the food together.

_Please God, please let him feed me for today, just for today I promise I won't do anything to get into trouble._

Sam turned away from the food only to see that there were small scraps in the trash. His mouth watered and took note that John would be home at six so he had at least an hour left.

_Take it! Eat it! He won't know! He doesn't have to know!_

Before he knew it he threw himself at the trash can digging through, eating any small piece of food that he came across. He knew it was gross and disgusting but food was food and he was desperate. He couldn't wait until tomorrow. It wasn't much food but he could take what he could get. His hunger was sated for now and decided from then on he would dig in the garbage for any leftovers though he was gonna have to keep John from finding out. Sam turned and washed his hands and got back to cooking then began setting the table. The clock now read five thirty. Thirty more minutes then John would be on his way home. He dreaded what that would bring, hopefully John had a normal day. Sam figured if that were the case John would get drunk and just throw a few punches to his body or seal him away in his new "room".

 

John was leaning against his work bench in silence. He glared at his tools. What happened at home was no one's business but his. His anger was slowly rising the more he thought about the conversation with the school principle. She had mentioned that various staff members were concerned about the boys' health and he had no doubt that his teacher Crowley was a part of it too. He clenched his fist and slammed it down on the table. When he got home he was gonna have to make the boy regret not following his orders. John grabbed a beer from his ice chest and immediately began planning what he was going to do. He knew right then and there he was going to make his teachers and principle sorry for putting their noses where they shouldn't have in the first place. He took another sip of his beer and before he knew it, it was gone and time for him to head home. Time to teach the boy another lesson. Maybe he had been too generous by letting him sleep in the attic. He threw the bottle on the ground making it shatter on the pavement and got in his truck. It roared to life when he put the key in the ignition. He drove past the speed limit and within a few minutes he reached his home.

 

Sam was unsure of what to do when John would get here. He didn't know if he was supposed to stand in the corner or go in his new room. In the end he decided he was to stand in the corner and wait for orders. Sam froze when he heard the truck pull in and the engine go off. Sam scrambled to his spot in the corner and stood there with his hands to the sides of his body and began staring straight at the floor. He heard the front door open and then slam shut, flinching as it did. John's boots thumping and echoing in the quiet home until they stopped in the kitchen doorway. Sam stood his ground and stopped shaking as soon as he saw John's boots come into view. Sam barely blinked and the next thing he knew he was on the floor and the left side of his face stung. John grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and hoisted him up and threw to the side where he crashed into the chairs and table. His vision swam as he lay there on the floor. John began a barrage of kicks to Sam's stomach. When he stopped he began coughing violently.

"What the hell did you do boy?" he spat, "I said to tell everyone you fell from the mountain trail. How hard is that for you to do?!"

_I did tell them. I swear I did._

"And now I've got to deal with your principle and teachers! I have to meet with them and a social worker because of you!" He yelled and grabbed Sam's right arm. He screamed at the unbearable pain John was causing. He had no idea what damage he'd done the night before.

_Meet with a social-? No! NO!_

His mind began screaming at him at what that would entail. He knew he should've been suspicious of his teachers. They had been eyeing him all day with sad looks on their faces but they took no action to him whatsoever. Tears had begun falling at this point.

_Why can't they just leave me alone for once?_

Sam's right arm was not responding again no matter how many times he willed it to. Sam began crawling away from John but that soon proved to be futile as John grabbed one of his legs and pulled Sam back to him. John pulled his arm back and started landing blows on the left side of his face. Now Sam was gonna have matching bruises to go along with the right side of his face. Sam was left in a daze after taking so many hits already. He felt John pulling him up by the collar of his neck again and soon the sound of shattering glass echoed through the house. Sam landed back on the floor with a cut on his temple and it began trickling blood down his face and neck. The air in his lungs rushed out and Sam began coughing and struggling to breathe. Panic began to settle in as he lay there defenseless. His eyes were blown wide in fear but soon it ebbed into pain when John started in on his kicking spree yet again.

_Am I gonna die? After all this am I gonna die?_

He thought bitterly as he remembered meeting Gabe earlier.

At John's last kick he felt the air rush back through his lungs and was relieved at that. He heard his boots fading away and was confused. Usually when John lost it, the attack would go on for a good half an hours but something was different this time. John walked over to one of the drawers and opened it. Sam's vision was now blurry due to some of the blood going into one his eyes. John stood next to Sam staring down at his pathetic excuse of a son and in his right hand was a knife. He clenched his hands and knelt down. Sam lay there breathing and started feeling the pain of the knife dragging across his skin yet again. The house was filled with his piercing screams. This time John was carving into his left arm. He held Sam down kneeling on his chest and lay his arm flat across the floor. He stopped stopped carving a R and then a T to give Sam another punch to his face.

"What did I tell you about screaming?!" He yelled then went back to carving on his arm. By the time John was done Sam's throat was extremely sore and he wasn't sure he'd be able to talk for a few days. John had gone up to the attic grabbing what little stuff Sam had and went outside. Sam's arm was bleeding and staining the kitchen tiles but he remained laying there on the floor completely drained.

_How much more can I take?_

John came back in the house and immediately grabbed and pulled Sam up by his hair. Sam could only follow and began panicking when he saw that they were heading outside to the storm.

_No! No! Don't chain me to the tree please! No! I promise I won't get into anymore trouble! Please! I don't want to be outside!_

He wanted to scream at John but could only stay silent until an order was given. The wind was cold and blowing harshly. John led him to the side of the house where Sam saw two doors latched closed on the ground. John opened them and Sam was frightened at seeing his stuff now inside a basement he was unaware they had. John threw Sam down and watched as tumbled down the concrete stairs.

"From now on this is your new room," John spat and closed both doors. Sam heard chains then the click of a lock going into place.

The basement was dark and dreary. There were cobwebs all over the place. The sound of water dripping from a leaky pipe was the only noise to be heard besides Sam sniffling. He sat up and looked at his arm, though it was very dim in there, he was able to make out the word on his right arm.

WORTHLESS

He stared at his arm. The word taunting him endlessly. Tears welled up in his eyes and soon began falling down his cheeks. He crossed his arms and was now able to see them both side by side.

UNLOVABLE

WORTHLESS

Sam curled up and lay his head on his arms crying. The storm was still raging on outside of the basement. Small claps of thunder could be heard.

_Why? What did I do to you? Why do you hate me so much? I'm a good boy. I'm a good boy..._

He couldn't understand why John hated him so much. What on earth could he have done that made John decide that he would treat him worse than an animal? Sam was able to recall some moments in his earlier life where he was never treated in such a way. He used to be treated like a normal boy _._ He would go outside and play with some of the neighborhood kids while John would stay inside and sleep most of the day away and only get up to make food and go to work leaving young Sam by himself. Sam would prefer those days more than he would the current ones. John wasn't a very good parent then either but he tried even for a small bit. It was certainly better than this monster that he became. John could beat him or break him all he wanted but he just wanted to know why. If he knew why he would try to fix it or make sure that he never made any mistakes ever again.

Sam sniffled and began wiping his eyes. The only light available was a small bulb hanging from the ceiling with a small chain. He crawled over to a corner and decided to start making his bed. He looked around wondering what was missing. The newspapers and cot where there but something was still missing.

_Blanket. There's no blanket._

Sam let out a shuddering sigh. Another privilege he was denied. He supposed John would take every small bit of him until there was nothing left. More tears fell down as he shook his head. He shouldn't have to be living like this but yet here he was and now it was going to be worse.

_How could they? Why couldn't they just leave well enough alone? What am I gonna have to do to survive now?_

If Sam wanted help he would've asked a long time ago. He remembered John mentioning a social worker now being involved. He was gonna have to think of new ways to hide the bruises and think of new excuses. If the social worker caught anything going on he knew John would most likely kill him besides he knew that if he was taken away he would be put into home after home after home with no idea of where he would end up. That is well, if _anyone_ wanted him. Who was he kidding? No would want him. Most likely for the same reason John didn't want him. He could see it in his eyes whenever he had to look at him. John had never wanted him he probably never wanted a kid but he was stuck with him. He was just another burden to bear with.

Sam sat against the wall. Another loud clap of thunder sounded this time shaking and rattling the windows. He began crying again wishing that the storm would stop. All the storm would do was cause him endless torment be reminding him of the many times he was chained to the tree. Sam was lucky that the lightning never came close to hitting him then again he was chained to a tree, he would hardly call that luck.

His fought hard to ignore the storm raging outside. He couldn't help but think back on the past few days about the nurse, Kevin, and Garth. Sam knew it was Nurse Master's job to look in on the health on the students but he wondered about Kevin and Garth.

_They didn't talk to me at the beginning of school. Why would they start now?_

He suspected maybe his teachers put them up to it in order to get him to crack. It would be just like them to do such a thing but at least he had Gabe. Gabe at least knew what it was like and maybe that was all he needed. Just someone who understood what it was like to live like this. He was gonna have to find a way to avoid them as much as possible. The only thing left for him to do was figure out a way to keep the social worker away. On one hand he wanted to tell them everything from the scars on his arms to the bruises on his face but on the other hand he had no idea how bad the repercussion  would be, it would probably be his death. 

He curled up and wiped his tears stained cheeks.

_They probably don't even care about me. Why would anyone? I deserve this if anything. Why does my life always have to get worse instead of better?_

He looked around the dim basement though now it seemed more like a dungeon. The pipes were dripping and there was a cold draft. Another flash of lighting went off as well as thunder. He flinched as it shook the house.  John was probably sitting down eating dinner with the dog while Sam remained in the basement only to be forgotten. There was a small window that was on ground level that was letting in some light from the storm. The rain soon turned into hail. Sam moved to lay down on the cot only to find his limp getting worse and his arm was barely responding. The small sounds of hail hitting the small window continued and nearly put Sam to sleep. That was until he heard knocking on it. He slowly turned to see someone looking in. Sam squinted to get a better view at who it was then the lightning flashed and he gaped.

"Gabe?"

He was met with a smile and then he was twirling a small object in his fingers. _A Key._

 

 

Meanwhile Dean was at his home sitting and planning something, anything to get Sam away from his dad safely.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry again it literally hurts me to do this to Sam so here have a band-aid and some tissues ...um and a hug


	11. The Dilemma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all I'm back and also a few things... 1. Cox is a really shity internet provider (I failed an important class because of it) 2. Health problems bite and 3. Writers Block is awful if anyone has any tips on how to get rid of it please let me know

Dean was sitting in his room on his bed against the wall. In his lap was a notebook and pencil. Thunder sounded as the wind blew harshly against the window. Upon hearing it he couldn't help but think of Sam after remembering the way he reacted to storms like this.

 

_Was Sam reacting that way right now?_

He sighed and decided not to think about it. He was gonna ask his mom about Sam but she had let a note about leftovers for the night. He figured she was doing a work related thing so he figured it was best not to bother her at all. Hopefully by the eye witness accounts of the bruises and the pictures Cas was gonna take that would be all they needed to send his father away to jail for a while if not forever.

_Would all of that finally give Sam the courage to stand up and say no?_

He balled up his fists.

_It had to!_

He couldn't see why not. He was interrupted in his thoughts by the sound of his doorbell ringing. He got up and headed to the front door. He opened it to see Cas, Charlie, Kevin, and Garth standing on the front porch. He stepped aside to let them in. The four of them silently walked to the living room followed by Dean. Cas was the first to break the silence as they sat on the blue couches.

"I cannot get Sam out of my mind. This storm is only making my thoughts worse."

Dean rubbed his face, "Me too Cas. Me too."

Charlie and Kevin looked down in thought but found themselves thinking of Sam too. Garth sat in silence and shook his head.

"So what brings you all here?" Dean leaned back folding his arms. Charlie felt uneasy speaking about it but it had to be heard.

"One of my classmates. Jess. She's one of the cheerleaders. She was in the nurse's office the other day and Sam was there. She said that Sam had thrown a fit when the nurse was going to call his dad and... it's true. His dad is hurting him."

They all stared at her and didn't know what to say. Charlie shook her head, her eyes getting misty . "Why? What reason could his father possibly have for beating Sam?! It's so wrong! Sam is a good kid. He never causes trouble!" She placed her face in her hands, barely able to fight back tears.

Garth sighed and looked down and he couldn't help but think that John would go far enough to kill Sam and find a way to get away with it.

Kevin crossed his arms lost in thought. He was silently hoping that Sam was doing alright right now. Outside the storm raged on, letting another loud clap of thunder roll through. Whenever he was being bullied by Gordon and his gang he couldn't stand it, but for Sam to go through unspeakable hell each day at the hands of his own father and to still pass each of his classes with flying colors that seemed to say a lot about Sam to Kevin. Maybe Sam was a lot stronger than he realized. He was determined to say the least and stubborn but he had to admit Sam was his own kind of brave. Maybe he and the others would be able to get Sam to realize it or at least brave enough to stand up to John and say no more. Yet again he was left doing nothing except hoping. He shook his head, this had to stop.

Cas huffed. He had a bad feeling right now. He prayed that against all odds Sam would be able to persevere against the abuse for a while longer. He hated seeing him so weak in P.E. class. He thought about the other day when he couldn't even do a push up. Surely the teachers have noticed Sam's behavior and appearance. They'd have to be blind to not see it. Earlier in the day he heard a rumor that Sam was being starved which he figured wasn't a rumor at all since Sam was beginning to look like a bag of bones lately. Although since Sam was probably used to such little food it would only make it that much more difficult to get him fed. He'd heard that during treatment for starvation there was a possibility of re-feeding syndrome which could be fatal if they couldn't find the proper help. He figured should they actually get Sam rescued he would be under constant watch from doctors, psychiatrists, and others. Cas knew without a doubt there was a lot of damage done to Sam's psyche.

_Perhaps that is the reason he does not call for help. Sam must think that he not worth anyone's time. His own perception of himself must be pitiful._

"Sam must be rescued as quickly as possible. His self esteem is likely the reason he doesn't feel the need to ask for help." He ran his hand over his face.

Garth eyed him oddly, "What do you mean?"

 

"Sam has had to endure this horrible treatment most of his life. It is unlikely his father has a reason for beating him and living like that a long time will no doubt make him think it is his fault. It will make him think he deserves it." Cas looked glumly.

Dean grimaced. He had never thought about the psychological aspect of it. Knowing that now made him feel worse and more desperate for saving Sam.

_Sam I promise you you'll never have to go through this anymore._

"Cas is right. We have to get him out of there as quickly as possible."

Charlie sighed, "How Dean? We don't have enough proof to get him out of there. We're stuck waiting until we see him at school."

"I don't know. We'll find a way. We just have to." Dean got up and began pacing the floor while the others were lost in thought. The silence breaking when his phone rang loudly. He looked at the caller ID and saw it was from the Roadhouse.

_Ash or Jo. Hopefully they got something._

"Hello? Ash is something wrong?" Everyone's head turning to Dean.

"Hola amigo. Guess who just walked through the door?" He leaned against the wall.

"...John?"

"Yep. I can see him from across the room and I got a bad feeling about Sam."

"No kidding. You too?"

"Uh-huh. My insides are going cold just looking at him. Looks like the only emotion he's capable of showing is anger."

"Yeah we kinda figured that a long time ago Ash."

"Another thing amigo."

"Yeah? What?"

"John's knuckles. They're bruised and... shit!"

"What ash?!"

"Dean I can see blood on his right hand!"

"Blood?! Is there a lot?"

"His knuckles are covered in it! Hang on. I'm gonna try and sneak a picture for proof." There was a few moments of silence before the line was picked up again. "Got'em. Not much but at least it's a start."

"Anything is better than nothing Ash."

"I'll send y'all the picture later. Right now Ellen is going to serve him."

Jo came by with an empty tray mouthing to see who he was talking to. After understanding it was Dean she knew it was about Sam. She gave a small sad sigh. The sooner they got Sam out the better. She moved to go get some more drinks for other customers. Jo passed by John on her way to the counter and grew pale at the sight of the blood on his knuckles.

_Sam! I hope you're okay. Just hold on for a little longer..._

Ellen looked at her daughter quizzically. Jo realized her mother had been staring at her and shook her head. Ellen looked a little suspicious at that but decided to ask Jo later. She sighed when she saw John and began making her way to him.

_Is there ever gonna be a day when he doesn't come in?_

"Alright what do you want this time John?'

"Just get me the usual. And leave the pitcher this time."

Ellen turned away but saw the blood and stopped.

"Did you hurt yourself John?" Her voice laced with suspicion.

"It's none of your damn business Ellen."

"I was just asking." She rolled her eyes before walking away.

John let out an annoyed grunt but grabbed a rag out of his pocket to wipe off the blood. He gave a small satisfied smirk.

_He got what he deserved..._

John sat back relaxed in his chair. He began thinking how he would explain the marks on the boy. He considered telling the principal that Sam fell down on a hiking trail and got beat and cut up on the way down. Then he thought about a more believable lie. The lie that Sam was doing this to himself. A mere cry for attention because there was no one else but him and John. Mainly due to John having to work "long" hours at the auto shop and him bearing the burden of being a single father trying to make ends meet. And that getting help for Sam was not an option because of money issues. He gave a dark chuckle at that. If that wouldn't work then he would simply play the victim and make it look like the teachers were overreacting to something trivial. Just like he got rid of one many years before. 

_What right did that bitch have to tell him how to raise his own kid._

Perhaps he'll get rid of that nosy teacher Crowley or maybe the touchy feely teacher Inias. Either way it'll be one less thing to worry about. For now he relaxed and gave a small smile when thunder boomed. He didn't miss what it did to poor Sam. Another clap of thunder sounded but was accompanied with lightning. He could picture it now.The boy huddled in the corner crying and crying with his hands pressed to his ears trying to block the noise. Right then and there he considered going back home just to get Sam out of the basement and chaining him to the tree while watching him from inside the house. It was tempting almost but he decided against it in favor of booze.

 

Jo watched John from afar. She saw the sadistic smile that showed on his face whenever the thunder clapped. She clenched her jaw and glared at him. More thank likely he did some sick and twisted things during storms to make Sam react the way he does.

_One day. One day you'll get yours and then you'll suffer the consequences of your actions. We'll see to it. All of us._

Jo considered approaching John and trying to get him talking about Sam for a little bit to see if she could get some information about him. She took a few steps forward only to feel someones grip on her wrist. She turned to see a disapproving head shake from Ash.

"Jo it ain't worth it, whatever you're planning to do. Besides if he can treat Sam with no remorse what do you think he'll do to you."

She sighed,"Ash I have to get something for proof."

"I already got pictures for proof. I sent them to Dean already."

"We need more proof than just pictures! If I can get like a story or some sort of interaction with him about Sam then we'll have an actual statement to give to teachers and officers like an actual witness account. Also my mom is here to keep an eye on him like she always does. If he tries anything she can knock his ass down to the ground with a couple swings and if that doesn't deter him than her shotgun will!"

Ash let out a harsh breath. It did sound like a good plan but there were some things she hadn't considered.

"Jo it will come off as suspicious right now." He folded his arms.

"What? How?"

"The timing will. Look, I don't know what Sam said to his teacher that made him react the way he did but more thank likely his teacher might have tried something. The timing of you asking anything about Sam will only make things worse for him."

Jo let out a frustrated huff at that. "I can't believe we're gonna stand by and watch."

"I don't like it either but we'll have to...." He remained quiet for a moment when thunder sounded, "I hope the poor tyke is doing alright.

Jo shook her head. "You know he's not Ash," She grabbed a rag to go clean off a small table from the previous customers.

It was horrible he was having to do this in the first space. Ash began clearing some tables while Ellen looked at them both with a curious look on her face. Those two were up to something concerning John Winchester. She didn't miss the way Jo glared at John. She clearly despised the man but then again everyone despised John except for the lowlife scumbags that came into this place.

She figured if it was important the her daughter would readily ask for help when the time came. She begrudgingly went to fix John's drink and serve him. Something about John didn't seem right to her. Almost like a dark shadow of despair followed him and everyone uncomfortable.

 

John began looking around the place with annoyance. It felt like someone was watching him. He downed a shot of vodka. He found that most of the people there avoided his gazed. Something was definitely going on, the man could practically feel it. When Ellen came back to him with the pitcher he eyed her closely but dropped suspicion when a fight broke out and she went to stop it. He knew someone was watching him but he figured he was being paranoid after receiving the phone call from the school.

 

 

Back at Sam's he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Gabe was outside the window with the key twirling between his fingers. Gabe gave a brief smile at Sam and immediately left the view from the window. He could hear the clinking of the metal as it was removed. The doors opened and Gabe walked down the steps with a brown paper bag in his hand.

"Hey there kiddo," he smiled.

Sam was shocked to say the least. Many questions popping in his head about how odd this was.

_How? Why is he-? Where did he get the -? How much did he hear? What is-? WHAT?_

At this point Sam was doing a good impression of a fish and staring with his mouth agape.

Gabe just snickered at that. "You know if you keep doing that you'll start catching flies."

Sam shut his mouth and immediately straightened.

"W-What are you doing here? How did you get that?" He pointed at the key.

"Well I found that I accidentally packed two lunches today, well not me my dad did. So I didn't want it to go to waste and I thought of you. I also watched you and followed you home! ...Okay that sounded creepy let me rephrase that." He scratched his head looking for a better explanation.

"What I meant was I was walking from the candy shop, oh by the way I am a huge sugar addict in case you haven't noticed, but I was on my way walking home when I saw you walk up to your house. I thought I'd stop by and say hi and give you my lunch."

Gabe flushed with embarrassment hoping that was a much better explanation.

Sam was quiet for a moment, "But how did you get the key?"

"Well there's a shortcut I take on my way back by hopping a few fences and I saw your old man locking these doors before going inside. I was gonna check on you first but then I heard his truck and as soon as he left I kinda picked the lock to your house. Also I found the key on a key hanger with the word basement above it. It's not really that hard to miss." He chuckled popping a candy in his mouth.

 

"You picked the lock to my house? " Sam questioned.

"Sam. I'm a prankster. I'm the King Prankster. I have to have access to anything and everything especially for some of my best works. Now are you going to stick with the twenty questions or are you going to eat this god made lunch?"

Sam shifted nervously. "I don't want to mooch off your food plus if John, if he finds out about this...?

Gabe held up a hand. "One, you're not mooching off of anything me and two, he won't find out I promise you.

Sam bit his lip but sighed as his stomach growled then and caved in to his internal battle. He reached out his arm only to hiss and cradle it. He briefly had forgotten what had happened moments ago. His eyes watered while it started to sting again.

Gabe noticed and held his hand out to Sam. Reluctantly Sam moved hand forward and winced as Gabe grabbed it and gently pulled the sleeve back on his left arm. Gabe's eyes widened as he gasped.

**WORTHLESS**

As horrible as his actual father was he would never do that to Gabe. It was appalling that John stooped so low as to force Sam to see this on his arm everyday.

Sam sniffed and looked away as his arm was inspected.

Gabe's eyes watered and he pulled Sam as close as he could embracing him in his arms.

"Oh Sam. I'm so sorry. So so sorry." He rubbed his back.

Right then and there Sam broke down and sobbed.

"Don't worry you'll get through this Sam. I promise. I'm here. You're not alone anymore. You'll get through this." Gabe rubbed his back reassuringly.

 

"How long? How much longer am I gonna take this?" Sam buried his face into Gabe's jacket.

"I...I don't know, but I'll help you get through this alright? Alright?" Sam sniffled and nodded his head. He went back to hugging Gabe. All he could think of for the moment was to explain both words to his teachers and the nurse. He had almost forgotten what John said earlier.

Gabe rubbed his back in assurance. He didn't know what to think after he saw Sam's arm. He was definitely going to need all the help he could get. He felt Sam go still and suddenly push him away. Sam looked at Gabe with tear filled eyes. His gaze puzzling him. Sam sniffed and wiped his nose.

"He-He was beating me earlier and said that he got a call from the school. They said that they wanted to meet him. My teachers, the principal, and a social worker! After that he just crazy and carved into my other arm!" Sam's whole body shook as he sobbed. "What am I gonna do? What do I tell them? I told all my teachers to leave me alone! I told them everything was fine! It was probably Crowley or Inias. They just don't know how to let things go."

Gabe's eyes widened.

_A social worker?!_

He remembered what that was like. Sure people thought they meant well by doing that but they never realized what would happen because of it. All that did was cause pain in the end.

"Whoever it was most likely called Child Protective Services." Gabe let out a harsh breath. Sure Sam would get rescued in the end but the again there was no telling of what would happen after that. He'd get adopted by another family but even that would take years. Other times he heard of kids going to homes that were in worse condition than before and the family would be as bad if not worse. The social workers not realizing that they switched one hell for another. He'd even heard of some families taking a kid just for the check they receive every often.  He didn't want Sam to go through all that but neither did he want Sam with John.

Gabe sighed. He was at a loss here, he knew that Sam's dad would find a way out of this mess as as soon as the meeting would pass he'd go right back to beating Sam black and blur. He was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard Sam gasp.

"There's these kids in my classes that keep asking me all these types of questions. I don't even know them or talk to any of them! I think they're up to something." Sam bit his lip.

"What do you mean?" Gabe looked a little alarmed  He was hoping they weren't bullying or blackmailing Sam somehow.

"They started talking to me all of a sudden. They won't stop asking me about my bruises like the teachers. I know I look a little roughed up but one of them even wanted me to hang out with him and his friends. No one ever does that." He looked up at Gabe.

"Do you know their names Sam?" Gabe took out a pen.

"Yeah. One of them is Castiel. The kid that comes into school with a trench coat, umm there's Miss Trans son Kevin, and that one kid Garth. I always see him hanging around Dean and Ash." Sam rubbed his eyes. "There's also the girl with red hair sort of."

"That one could either be Charlie or Anna. I'm thinking Charlie... depends of their style mainly though," Gabe tapped his pen against his chin. 

"She was wearing some Harry Pott-"

"That's Charlie." He interrupted and chuckled. He had some names at least so he could get some Intel tonight. "Alright Sammo eat." Gabe opened the bag and gave Sam the sandwich and chips while he pulled out the yearbook from his bag and began scrolling through the classes to find his potential targets. He marked stars next to their names and pulled out his phone. Thankfully the school had its own social networking site. He pulled up each name and began putting them on a watch list. He was going to need help but that was going to be easy since he had friends, friends that owed him some favors. He gave a smirk at that thought.

_Don't worry Sam I won't let anything happen to you..._

He watched as Sam ate and immediately began thinking of when would be his best course of action. He looked through his schedule. 

_Hmm I don't have them near my classes or in them. i guess I'll have to make some calls later but I'll have to wait until free period to hunt them down._

"Gabe?" Sam asked bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah Sam?"

"I'm scared. What will happen to me tomorrow? I mean after that meeting. How much more worse can it get?:

Gabe let out a harsh breath. "I... don't know Sam." He scooted toward Sam leaving everything forgotten as he pulled Sam into a small hug.

To be honest he didn't want to think of how bad it could get. John was already doing some horrific things to Sam but the fact that wasn't even worst John could do made him uneasy and a little sick. The most he could do right now was to comfort Sam and as well as tomorrow. He made a mental note to bring food to Sam at school and even sneak over here. It was a risk yes, even with the dog around (he was lucky that the dog was already getting old and hardly did much), but hell it would damn be worth it to keep Sam safe and healthy.

Sam sniffed and buried his head in Gabe's neck. Gabe rubbing his back and saying "It's going to be alright," every few minutes. They stayed like that for an hour. Only the soft sound of each other breathing was heard.

Gabe looked down at Sam, who, looked up at Gabe at the same time. The tear's on Sam's face have long since dried and his eyes were no longer red or puffy. Although there was a hint of redness on his face. In fact Gabe could've swore Sam was blushing.

_Why would he be blushing? That's ridiculous..._

Gabe found himself lost in hazel eyes. In the midst of this pain his eyes seemed like they were shimmering. Reminding Gabe of the sky after a storm. He felt a small warmth filling him the longer he stared.

 

Sam found himself trapped in amber golden eyes. He was being drawn into the mischievous glow that seemed to surround him. Sam could feel the blood moving to his face as he tried to figure out the strange sensation he was feeling. 

_What am I feeling? Why is he looking at me like that?_

Outside the storm had finally calmed down to just being windy. Gabe blinked and was going to say something when they heard the roar of a familiar truck. Panic filled Sam.

John was home.

"Go!" Sam ordered.

"Sam-" Gabe tried to say.

"No! You have to go! He'll hurt me like he always does but there's no telling what he'll do to you if he see's you here."

Gabe nodded. "Alright but I'm coming back here for you tomorrow after school. With more food," he added. "Shit! I still have the key!"

"Never mind that get out of here! Now!" Sam grabbed trash from the left over from his meal and stuffed it in the corner behind a shelf.

He gave a Sam a sad look before heading up the steps and closing the door. Then the sound of the chain and lock being put into place was heard.

Hopefully he could put the key back without getting caught.

_It's now or never..._

Gabe opened the door quietly slipped inside. The rumble of the truck suddenly gone. He slowed his breath and stayed still.

The garage door opened and the sound of boots thumping on the floor filled the house. Each step seemed to get louder and louder as they went. Nails began clicking on the floor which puzzled him. He crouched and crawled to the sink. The clicking grew louder and he saw something move in the corner of his eye. Blood drained from his face and his heart began racing.

_The dog! I forgot about the dog!_

When he snuck in earlier the dog was lying on his side seemingly dead but now? The damn thing was wide awake! He watched as the German Shepard walk to his water bowl while he stayed as still as a statue. 

Without making a sound he slowly made his way across the kitchen on his hands and knees. The shelf with the key hanger just a little ways away from it. He kept his eyes on the German Shepard that was now scratching himself behind the ear.

_Almost there..._

The sound of movement in the hallway had him freezing. A light flicked on and he could see John's shadow, Unfortunately he couldn't tell where John was until he moved. He could be caught in any moment or be safe. He watched as his shadow flicked through rectangles.

_Mail_

He realized. He put one hand in front of the other. Though his heart was pounding he managed to keep calm as he finally reached the wall. All he had to do was lean up and put the key back without it making a single jingle. He reached in his pocket and pulled out the key. He watched as the shadow moved. It was getting smaller and smaller.

_He's getting closer! Shit! Shit! Shit!_

His blood was roaring in his ears as he realized John was just on the other side. It felt like everything was happening in slow motion. He was gonna panic and do something stupid. One boot came into view.

_This was it. It was over._

The doorbell rang. John let out a huff as the dog got up and went to the door with him.

Gabe shook all over and carefully placed the key back in it's case. He crouched and went the opposite way toward the living room. He could hear the soft talking but couldn't make out the conversation until he got behind the couch.

The man at the door was pudgy and had curly brown hair.

"I'm a quiet guy and I keep to myself but earlier I heard screaming. Like not screaming when your football team loses. The screaming I heard sounded like someone was being tortured. I just wanted to be sure if everything was alright."

_Buddy you don't know the half of it._

"Everything is fine," John ground out. "Now go and mind your own damn business Ronald."

Before Ronald could say anything else John slammed the door in his face. The dog barked and growled at the door. He took a few steps into the hallway and John stopped to look at his hands. There was still blood on them. He let out an annoyed huff and walked up the stairs he needed to wash his hands.

 

When he disappeared from his view Gabe took the chance and immediately got up and made a mad dash for the door. He could hear the sound of a collar jingly rapidly. He opened the door as quick and quietly as he could. The sound of growling followed. By the time the dog got to the bottom of the stairs Gabe was out of there and halfway across the lawn. He could hear the sound of the barking as he ran.

John heard the dog barking ferociously and went down the stairs two at a time. He only barked like that if there was an intruder or threat. He opened the door only to see Ronald going back in his house and nothing more. He rolled his eyes and shut the door.

 

Gabe ran until he couldn't anymore. He was shaking and his heart was pound in his chest. The adrenaline ran its course and he was slowly getting his breath under control/

_Feels like I ran a marathon! I forgot what that felt like..._

Gabe pulled out a chocolate bar and began walking his way home.

Sam lie on the cold hard ground. All that was left to do was wait for tomorrow to come and go. He rolled on his side and let out a loud sigh. There was no doubt that he was getting an ever worse beating tomorrow when got home. He curled up and the sound of thunder cracked through the air. It was a bad sign of what was to come. Tears built up and were now flowing down his face. He screamed. He screamed until he couldn't scream anymore.

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Savior By 30 Seconds To Mars just screams Sam Winchester to me and it made me think of writing this anyways... I hope you like it so far  
> Constructive criticism is always appreciated


End file.
